鈥verytravelerisallowedtovisitonly10caves.
鈥t鈥檚bettertovisitinthemorning,becausethereisalimittothenumberofvisitorseveryday.
鈥hotographyisnotallowedinthecaves.
ListedasaWorldHeritageSitein1987
Location:DunhuangCity,GansuProvince,northwestChina
BestTimetoVisit:Anytime,butautumnisthepeaktouristseason
MogaoCavesareoneofthelargest,mostrichlyendowed,andlongestusedtreasurehousesofBuddhistartintheworld.Firstconstructedin366,theyrepresentthegreatachievementsofBuddhistartfromthefourthtothe14thcentury.CarvedintothecliffsabovetheDachuanRiver,GansuProvince,thecavesholdanunrivaledcollectionofBuddhistmanuscripts,murals,sculptures,paintingsandtextilesspanningmorethan1,000years.
Atotalof492caveshavebeenpreserveduptonowandhouseabout45,000squaremetersofmuralsandmorethan2,000paintedsculptures,reflectingthesplendidcultureandhistoryofdifferentChinesedynasties.Thebiggestcaveis40metershighand30meterswide.
Located25kmfromthecitycenterofDunhuang,amajorplaceofinterculturalexchangesontheancientSilkRoad,MogaoCavesdrawinfluencefrommultiplesources,includingHanChinese,ancientTibetansandotherChineseethnicminorities,aswellasIndians.
Theartworksinthecavesshowvariousaspectsofmedievalpolitics,economics,culture,arts,religionandethnicrelations.Cave302,datingfromtheSuiDynasty(581-618),containsoneoftheoldestandmostvividscenesofculturalexchangesalongtheSilkRoad,depictingacamelpullingacarttypicaloftrademissionsofthatperiod.InCave61,thecelebratedlandscapeofWutaiMountainisanearlyexampleofartisticChinesecartography,wherenothinghasbeenleftout-mountains,rivers,cities,temples,roadsandcaravansarealldepicted.
In1900,atotalof4,500valuableculturalrelicsdatingfrom256to1002,includingpaintingsandmanuscripts,werefoundintheLibraryCave,inwhatwastobeknownastheworld鈥檚greatestdiscoveryofancientorientalculture.
However,thetreasuresinthecavesremainvulnerabletonaturalfactors.Humidair,sunshineandweatheringcouldallcauseirreversibledamagetothemuralsandotherartworks.Toprotectthearts,onlyafewofthecavesarestillopentovisitors.Eachcaveislockedbehindadoortoensurecompletedarkness.Onlyflashlightsareallowedinthecave,whichaddstothemysteryandaweofthestatues.