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.
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 Buddhas 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. As with the Western Thousand Buddha Caves on the north bank of the nearby Dang River (only 9 of whose original 22 caves are in a state suitable for public viewing), a large percentage of the original Mogao Grottoes were badly damaged; of the 735 original grottoes at Magao, only 492 of them have "survived". Still, a very large number of the Mogao Grottoes are intact, something that not only Buddhists are thankful for, but also art lovers and archeologists the world over, as well as anyone who appreciates the significance of these grottoes and their contents for the cultural evolution the civilization, if you will of mankind in this corner of the world.
According to Tang Dynasty records, a monk had witnessed onsite a vision of thousand Buddhas under showers of golden rays. Thus inspired, he started the caves construction work that spanned ten dynasties. Mogao Caves are commonly known as the Caves of a Thousand Buddhas.
Buddhist art has its origins in India. Mogao sculptors improvised where the rock surface did not work well under their chisels. They placed clay statues in front of the cave walls, carved relief murals as backdrops, and painted the sidewalls and ceilings with art decors. The largest statue is 34.5 meters (113 feet) high and the smallest a mere 2 centimeters (0.79inches) high.
The traveler will note traces of Indian Buddhist art in the earlier works. More recent works depict all walks of life and activities in a local setting. You will relive the daily routines and special events as captured by the artists while you are exploring the 750 caves. There are also ups and downs in the artistic quality over the centuries, depending on the fortunes of Buddhism with available art patronage. Artists in each dynasty painted with their distinctive palette. The visitor can tell the works in the Tang Dynasty from those in the Song Dynasty.
People believe it possible to fill 25 kilometers (15.5miles) of gallery space with the works of art from Mogao. There are 50,000 manuscripts written in many languages apart from artifacts. The Mogao Caves are a depository of historical and cultural exchanges over more than a thousand years between China and other nations.