A Treasure House of Buddhist Art

In Chinese, “dun” means “huge” and “huang” means “prosperous”, which well depict Dunhuang city with its long history and glorious culture. Mogao Grottoes, on the cliff at the east foot of Echoing-sand Mountain of the city, is the largest treasure house of Buddhist art in the world.
The history of Mogao Grottoes started in 300, when, according to record, a reverend monk Le Zun traveled here on his west pilgrimage and carved the first cave, which started the carving of Mogao Grottoes that went on for over 1,000 years through 10 dynasties.
The artistic content of the grottoes is exceedingly rich as an integranted art of architecuture of Buddhism in Dunhuang area, but also the history and society as well as economy of the area, and providing a vivid illustration of the localization of Buddhism in China and the capacity of Chinese people in their absorbing and remodeling of foreign cultures.