A Silk Road terminal, Dunhuang played a pivotal role in China's trade and cultural exchanges with the West in ancient times. Dunhuang Grottoes is a colossal treasure-trove of, among other things, 45,000 square metres of frescos and 2,415 painted sculptures. The discovery of Tripitaka Cave at Dunhuang 100 years ago unveiled one of mankind's important disciplines of learning: Dunhuang studies. The famous Mingsha (Humming Sand) Hill and Crescent Moon Spring are found south of Dunhuang, while to the north there is Yumen Pass on the Great Wall. The ruins of the Yanguan Pass lies south of the city.
Mogao Grottoes
The Mogao Grottoes, twenty five kilometres southeast of the town of Dunhuang County, contain the largest and richest treasure trove of stone carvings and mural paintings in China. Carved out along a 1.500 metres precipice, the 492 grottoes strecht from south to north on the eastern slope of Rattling Sand Mountain and are divided into five levels. They contain 45.000 square metres of murals, 2.415 painted statues, and five wooden structures. The statues were all made of clay and coloured with paint. Themes of the murals range from Buddha portraits and Buddhist stories to fairy tales and pictures of worshippers.
The Mogao Grottoes were cut during a period of more than a thousand years from the fourth century to the fourteenth century A.D. Their discovery at the beginning of the century, after several hundred yeas of oblivion, caused a sensation throughout the world. The coloured paintings of the Mogao Grottoes feature bold lines, bright colours, and superb composition. Those made during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) are particularly brilliant. A large number of historical documents dating from the Middle Ages were also discovered in a cave where Buddhist scriptures were stored. The study of these valuable materials, along with paintings and statues, has become a subject of worldwide research.
Ruins of Yangguan
This ancient city seventy kilometres west of Dunhuang County town used to be a pass on the southern route of the Silk Road. A large number of cultural relics dating to the Han Dynasty (206 B.C - A.D 220) have been unearthed among the ruins of the old city. To the east of Yangguan lie the remains of Shouchang City, and to the north is a well-preserved old beacon tower on Dundun Hill. Outside of these ruins there is nothing but desert with few human traces. No wonder Wang Wei (701 - 761), a poet of the tang Dynasty wrote :" Drink another cup of wine, I bid you; For no dear ones shall you see outside of Yangguan".
Yumen Pass
Situated in Gobi Desert eighty kilometres northwest of Dunhuang County town, this was a pass on the northern route of the Silk Route. The remaining building is a well-preserved square structure, 24 metres from east to west, 26.4 metres from north to south, and 9.8 metres high. It was built with yellow mud bricks. The desert outside Yumen Pass bears few traces of human activity. It was so desolate that Wang Zhihuan (688 - 742), a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote :"Even the spring breeze cannot get through Yumen Pass.