Information about Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes

Mogao Grottoes, commonly known as Thousand Buddha Cave, is located in Dunhuang at the western end of Hexi Corridor. The murals of Mogao Grottoes are painted on the walls, roofs and shrines of the caves, with profound contents, including seven themes, such as Buddha statues, Buddhist stories, Buddhist historical sites, changes, immortals, patrons and decorative patterns. In addition, there are many paintings that show all aspects of social life at that time, such as hunting, farming, textiles, transportation, war, architecture, dancing, weddings and funerals.

The Mogao Grottoes are dug on the cliff at the eastern foot of Mingsha Mountain, 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, facing Dangquan in the front and Sanwei Mountain, a branch of Qilian Mountain in the east. The total length from north to south is1.680m, and there are 735 existing caves in the past dynasties, which are distributed on the cliffs with a height of1.5 ~ 30m, and the upper and lower floors are 1 ~ 4. It is divided into southern and northern areas, of which the southern area is a place for Buddhist sacrifices. There are 492 murals and colored plastic caves in various dynasties, with more than 2,400 colored plastic caves and murals covering more than 45,000 square meters.

The Mogao Grottoes were built during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. According to the book "Li Kerang Rebuilds the Monument of Mogao Grottoes" in Tang Dynasty, in 366 AD, two years before the founding of the Qin Dynasty, some monks were happy to pass by this mountain and suddenly saw the golden light shining like Buddha, so they dug the first cave on the rock wall. Since then, Zen master Fa Liang and others have continued to build caves here to practice, which are called "desert grottoes", meaning "high places in the desert".