27 Aug, 2009
Mogao Grottoes –Glittering Pearl Adorns The Silk Way
Posted by: sunny In: China travel| chinese culture| historic sites ()
The Mogao Grottoes, commonly named Thousand-Buddha Caves, and praised as “a glittering pearl that adorns the Silk Road”, are the most famous grottoes in China. Located 25km southeast of Dunhuang County, these caves are carved out of the sandstone cliffs of Mingsha Mountain, extending some 1600m from south to north. Constructed in 10 dynasties from the fourth to the 14th century, its 45000 square meters of mural paintings and more than 2000 color statues are regarded as the greatest treasure-house of Buddhist art existing in the world.
Legend and History
The first grotto at Mogao was chiseled in CE 366. According to legend, the area that comprises the Mogao Grottoes was marshland at the time, and a monk by the name of Yue Zun, traveling home across the region, had a vision-like dream in which a thousand golden Budd has figured, therefore the monk decided to turn his dream into a reality, and the work on the grottoes then commenced.
Over the next thousand years, which saw the rise and fall of not less than sixteen imperial dynasties, the work of chiseling out the grottoes and of adorning them continued. The construction of the last grotto was completed during the Yuan (CE 1279-1368) Dynasty.
Admission fee: RMB160/person
Opening hours: 9:00 am-17:00 pm
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