China’s Desert Treasure

[icy]

China’s Mogao Caves, at the edge of the Gobi Desert, hold an unrivaled collection of Buddhist art spanning a thousand years. Now they’re inspiring new generations of artists, from masters of ink painting to fireworks maestro Cai Guo-Qiang



First-time travelers to China wouldn’t think of leaving the country before they had seen the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Terracotta Warriors. But few venture farther inland to the oasis of Dunhuang, a small city on the edge of the Gobi Desert, 1,150 miles northwest of Beijing. If they did make the trip, they would discover a World Heritage Site that rivals the beauty and cultural importance of more popular tourist attractions: the Mogao Caves, sometimes referred to as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas. This expanse of 492 grottoes carved into the sandstone face of a nine-story-high cliff holds an unrivaled collection of Buddhist art, with more than 484,000 square feet of murals and 2,400 sculptures.

[Galen]

THIS IS MAGNIFICENT!!! A cave full of Buddhist art and sculptures!!! This would be a Buddhist paradise. And now it is a World Heritage site and will be preserved for many generations to come. No doubt that CHina has been the core place for Buddhism centuries ago and we are very lucky to have rediscovered this treasure when we are alive. A must visit place for all and definitely a holy pilgrimage site.

Hope there are proper accommodation and transportation nearby. But, it will take a lot of merits to be able to go on  pilgrimage to this place. Hope also that place will not become so commercialised and lose it's beauty and tranquility.

[bambi]

Wow! I didnt know that this place exist! And its really beautiful! Visiting this holy pilgrimage site is much much better than visiting places like the Great Wall or the Forbidden City. To be able to circumambulate and prostrate to so many Buddhas is incredible!

China is just full of such Holy sites. It would be great to go visit and China government to continue to preserve these places.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/china/shanghai-longhua-temple



http://www.sacred-destinations.com/china/leshan-giant-buddha



http://www.sacred-destinations.com/china/longmen-caves

[Jessie Fong]

China is such a vast continent. Discovering this treasure could just be the tip of the ice. Expect more treasures to be uncovered.

It is situated at the crossroads along the famous Silk Route, at the hub of religious, cultural and intellectual influences.

The caves are famous for wall paintings and statues depicting Buddhist art. This is a must-visit China destination together with the Longmen and Yungan Caves.

[Klein]

This is a spectacular place to visit and shows the history of Buddhists constructing extensive places of worship for the benefit of others. Below are some pics of the Mogao Caves and the murals inside.

[Freyr Aesiragnorak]

Wow! Amazing to see such art still preserved in China, not effected by the likes of zealots like the Taliban and the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues. It's great to see they have still been preserved, and provides an inspiration and glimpse into the Buddhist past of the world. More people should visit such places, and then maybe Buddhism can once again flourish through the medium of religious art.

[Kim Hyun Jae]

I pray in my wish to be able to go on pilgrimage to places like the Mogao Caves and Dunhuang as it require alot of merits to go on such trip at least once in a lifetime. To be able to sit down appreciating beautiful works depicting Buddhas, deities, daka and dakinis on the walls inside. It is a source of inspiration to imagine the kind or work and hardship these ancient monks, nuns and lay people had to go through for them to leave such fresco beauty, stone statues, carvings inside these caves for the future generation. If not for such effort of these ancient people, we would not be able to marvel at such greatness.
 

[Midakpa]

The pictures show that the statues and paintings on the walls are well-preserved. This is a reason to rejoice as I have seen some caves in which the mural paintings have either faded with time or destroyed, and statues have been mutilated and removed. It is possible, since these caves have become a world-heritage site, that the statues have been repaired and the paintings restored. This is good for the preservation of Buddhist art and the propagation of the religion. In any case, it is good for China's image.

[Tenzin Malgyur]

Mogao Caves looks really spectacular in all the pictures posted here. Now that its been declared a World Heritage Site, I am sure Mogao Caves would attract even more tourist to gaze at its wonderful work of art, whether they are of Buddhist faith or not. If I have the opportunity to travel to China, I would definitely make time and effort to travel further inland to gaze and pay homage to this wonderful holy site with so many Buddha images.

[maricisun]

Mogao caves is really amazing and spectacular. I think not many of us are aware of this place in China. I will definitely make a trip  there when I visit China next time. To be able to see and to pay homage to so many Buddha images will be so blessed. And it is so well preserved too.

[RedLantern]

China's Magao Caves,at the edge of the Gobi Desert,hold an unrivaled collection of Buddhist art spanning a thousand years!
It is simply amazing that it is so well preserved!It will definitely be a popular tourist pilgrimage site.To be able to pay homage and  gaze at these beautiful Buddha images is a blessing.
It is wonderful that  the  Chinese Government preserved these holy sites for generations.

[Big Uncle]

Yes, China has a very long history of adopting Buddhism. I guess, it is a blessing of Manjushri on the people of China so they value the Dharma then and they will again as more and more people becoming educated, wealthy and disenchanted with materialism, many will seek solace in spirituality. Would be interesting if there was a Dorje Shugden cave temple. But that would be unlikely as many of the caves predates the arrival of Dorje Shugden. Nevertheless, this does not diminish the beauty and sanctity of these ancient caves and statuary.

[fruven]

I can't fathom how the ancient peoples can carved caves out from rocks. What is more amazing its height is 9-storeys tall. Talk about engineering. No doubt this proves that the people in the past are very devoted to Buddhism. If I have the good karma I would like to visit such places. I think it is very rare to see this kind of temple in this modern age. 

[OMB]

Simply spectacular! It's said the grottoes in the Mogao Caves are the world's largest and oldest treasure house of Buddhist art, spanning over 1000 years.  Precious treasure of Buddhist Art, a must visit prilgrimage site.

[metta girl]

It's really beautiful
It is hard to deny that it is  really stunning  and unique.The beautiful sight and history of Buddhism is incredible and well preserved.  Mogao Caves  will be on my priority list on my next china trip.