The Mogao Caves (or, as they are also called, the Thousand Buddha Caves) are located on the slope of the Singing Sands Mountain in Dunhuang, Gansu Province.
Mogao is the largest cave of the early Buddhist cave temple complex of Qianfodong, erected in 353-366. n. e. Qianfodong, more often called Mogao after the main cave, unites 492 sanctuaries, which were decorated with frescoes and sculptures over a whole millennium (IV-XIV centuries).
Mogao, along with the Cave of a Thousand Buddhas in Bezeklik, is one of the earliest Buddhist temples China. Historical documents state that the first caves were made in the rock in 366. The Chinese monk Le Tzu-niu once had a vision of a thousand golden Buddhas, after which he was sure that it was worth making a cave on this holy land. His idea was supported and actively began to be implemented.
The carved caves were painted with colorful frescoes, decorated with clay sculptures, and various valuables were stored in them. Each fresco is an illustration of one of the Buddhist sutras and jatakas or depicts monks, the emperor and ordinary believers. Some of the frescoes illustrate the events of the spread of Buddhism in China. In some of the caves, frescoes cover the entire wall. Despite thousands of years of erosion caused by wind and drifting sand, the frescoes still retain their bright colors and clear images. The frescoes in these grottoes are marked by the influence of Western schools of Buddhism. In addition to frescoes and sculptures, the caves contain about 50 thousand Buddhist manuscripts and other valuables, including silk drawings, engravings, embroidery and calligraphy samples.
The total area of the caves is 45 thousand square meters. Mogao Caves consists of many small and large caves. Their length is 1680 meters. The size of the caves varies. In total there are 37 smallest caves and 16 largest ones, and the height of 96 of all caves is 40 meters. During the late Sixteen Kingdoms period, the first 275 grottoes were carved.
The Mogao Caves are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Opposite the Mogao Caves is the Dunhang Art Museum, where some of the destroyed and looted caves have been recreated.
Over the course of a thousand years, hundreds of masters created five thousand sanctuaries, which today are a stone encyclopedia of the history of Buddhism. The Mogao Caves are a whole system of temples carved into the rock like a honeycomb. Filled with frescoes and sculptures, the complex illustrates the life of the Buddha during different periods of his life and even after.
The Mogao Caves are located on the eastern slope of the Singing Sand Mountain - Minshashan - 25 km from the city of Dunhuang in the southeast of the Taklamakan Desert. Cave complex located in the heart of an oasis, the lush green vegetation of which is supported by the waters of the Danquan River. It was here that in ancient times two branches of the Great Silk Road met. Through these places, merchants brought precious stones, carpets, wool and religions to China.
Before Buddhism arrived in the country from India, all Chinese temples were built of wood. The tradition of building cave religious buildings also originates in India: due to poverty and lack of building materials, pilgrims found refuge in caves, which were then rebuilt into spiritual abodes.
How did the Chinese Mogao caves appear? There is a legend that in 366, a monk named Luo Tsun had a vision of a thousand Buddhas. It was after this that Lo Tsun began to carve the first cave in the rock. Merchants passing by helped: the monk asked to donate money for the improvement of the cave temples. And so gradually, as Buddhism spread throughout China, the Mogao caves became a place of pilgrimage. Hundreds of artists and craftsmen worked in them, and the living conditions were more than ascetic: the craftsmen lived in tiny caves in the north of the complex and slept on brick beds.
The work did not stop for many years, decades, centuries. And only in the 7th century a temple complex similar to what we can see now was formed. By the way, all caves have different sizes. There are very tiny ones, the smallest is less than a meter. 16 temples are simply immense in size. And 96 caves have a height of up to 40 meters. 492 temples have survived to this day.
The craftsmen were faced with the task of not only building temples, but also decorating them according to traditions. Thus, frescoes appeared on the walls, and sculptural compositions made of clay appeared inside the caves. Mogao houses almost two and a half thousand clay statues of Buddha, saints and bodhisattvas - beings who help people on the path to enlightenment. The sizes of the statues range from 10 to 33 meters. Moreover, 50 thousand square meters of paintings and drawings on various subjects have been preserved on the walls of the caves: from ornaments and fairy tales to the teachings of the Buddha himself and sacred books. All these relics were meant to instruct uneducated believers, following the example of stained glass windows in medieval cathedrals. There are also 5 wooden buildings preserved in the Mogao caves. Heyday visual arts temple complex dates back to the Tang Dynasty.
However, starting from the 14th century, the Mogao caves were abandoned and practically forgotten. In 1900, a Taoist monk named Wang, who lived as a hermit, cleared one of the caves from wind-blown sand. At that moment, one of the walls collapsed, behind which he discovered a mountain of old scrolls three meters high. The monk found a cache of collections of manuscripts and paintings on paper and silk. There were sutras and Buddhist texts in different languages. The most valuable of all works was the text of the Diamond Sutra, the oldest printed book in the world. It dates back to 868.
Wang informed the provincial governor about his discovery, and he, not wanting to spend money on transporting the most valuable cargo, ordered him to guard the scrolls. After 7 years, the English archaeologist Aurel Stein learned about the mountain of ancient manuscripts. The Briton managed to win Van over and took more than a third of the 20,000 scrolls, which he immediately took to London. Now they are all kept in the British Museum.
The French explorer Paul Pelliot was also able to obtain part of the treasure. Fluent in Chinese, he sorted through the remaining manuscripts, selected the most valuable and took them to Paris. When the Chinese authorities finally came to their senses, most national treasure has already been taken out of the country.
Monk Wang's discovery was nothing more than a monastery library. The oldest manuscripts date back to the 5th century. When the Mogao Caves were attacked by foreigners in 1035, the scrolls were walled up and then simply forgotten as the years passed.
In 1949 Chinese government sent to Mogaoarchaeological expedition, which works in the caves to this day.
In 1961, the Moga Caves received the status of a national monument, and in 1987 they began to be considered a site World Heritage.
Of the thousand Buddhist temples, only six hundred have been restored. And many times fewer are available to visitors - only 30 sanctuaries. The remaining temples are closed, as they are either of little interest or contain tantric frescoes.
The most ancient caves are located in the center of the rock. Each temple is clearly marked upon entry. To preserve the frescoes and sculptures, there is no artificial lighting in the caves, so all visitors and their guides must stock up with flashlights in order to plunge into the history of religious beliefs and examine the Caves of a Thousand Buddhas in all detail.
UNESCO World Heritage in China: Ice Tiara of the Mountains - Frame for mortal face only.Cave monasteries and temples of Mogao Caves
Mogao (Chinese: 莫高窟, pinyin: mò gāo kū, “Cave not for the tall”) is the largest cave of the early Buddhist cave temple complex Qianfodong (“Cave of a Thousand Buddhas”), erected in 353-366. n. e. 25 km from Dunhuang Oasis, Gansu Province, China. Qianfodong, more often called Mogao after the main cave, unites 492 sanctuaries, which were decorated with frescoes and sculptures over a whole millennium (IV-XIV centuries)
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Mogao, along with the Cave of a Thousand Buddhas in Bezeklik, is one of the earliest Buddhist temples in China. Its appearance on the eastern edge of the Taklimakan Desert is no coincidence: caravans with silk passed here, along with which Buddhist teachings seeped into China
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Unlike later cave temples like Longmenyai Yungang, the decoration of Mogao is dominated not by sculpture, but by fresco painting. Its area is estimated at 42,000 square meters. meters. Multi-figure frieze-like paintings are made with variegated adhesive paints on dry ground. Many of them cover the entire cave wall, characterized by dynamism and vitality. 
At the turn of the 20th century, a huge warehouse of manuscripts (approximately 20,000 objects) was discovered in one of the caves. Apparently, they were stored here in the 11th century, when manuscripts began to be replaced by printed books. 
The Mogao manuscript collection is very diverse in content and dating - these include Buddhist, Taoist, Nestorian and Manichaean religious texts, treatises on philosophy, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, history and geography, dictionaries, recordings of folk songs and classical Chinese poetry, official documents 
. Among the handwritten monuments of Mogao there is the “Book of Fortune-telling” - a unique text written in Turkic runic writing not on stone, but on paper. The range of languages of the studied manuscripts is also very diverse - these are classical and colloquial (Baihua) Chinese, Tibetan, Sanskrit, Pali, Tangut, Khotanese, Sogdian, Tocharian. 
The news of the discovery excited the scientific world of Europe, and in 1907 the most valuable manuscripts, including the world's oldest printed book, The Diamond Sutra (c. 868), were taken by Oral Stein to the British Museum. Following Stein, the temple complex was visited by representative scientific expeditions from France (Paul Pelliot) and Russia (Sergei Oldenburg), who also returned to Europe not empty-handed. The remaining part of the manuscripts was transferred to the Beijing Library.
Frescoes
Mogao fresco painting represents a thousand-year-old layer of Chinese fine art. According to the style of images, it is divided into four periods: 
Northern Dynasties and Sui Dynasties;
Tang Dynasty (the most magnificent wall paintings);
the era of the Ten Kingdoms and the Song Empire;
Western Xia and Yuan Dynasty.
Most of the frescoes are dedicated to the Buddha, his sermons and jatakas, as well as bodhisattvas, apsaras (fairies), monks, and pious believers. Probably in ancient times these images served to visually represent the canons of Buddhism to illiterate people. Many paintings reproduce authentic events from the history of the spread of Buddhism. 
Almost all 492 caves contain images of beautiful flying apsaras (feitian 飛天). They sing, dance beautifully, play kiba lutes and other musical instruments, scatter flowers, accompanying the Buddha as he reads a sermon. They have no wings and only long multi-colored ribbons help fairies soar in the air. 
Other murals are dedicated to events from Everyday life: ceremonial departure of the emperor, foreign ambassadors at the feast, meeting of Chinese and Western merchants, warrior tournaments, musician performances, wedding ceremony, hunting scenes, fishing, agricultural work. The frescoes depict people of different nationalities and social classes, their customs and clothing
Complex of ancient buildings in the Wudang Mountains 
Wudangshan (Chinese: 武当山, pinyin: Wǔdāng Shān, pal.: Wudangshan), Mount Wudang - small mountain range in Hubei Province, which is near the industrial city of Shiyan and about 120 km from Xiangfan city. 
The Wudang Mountains are famous for their Taoist monasteries and temples; there was a Taoist university here that studied medicine, pharmacology, nutrition, meditation and martial arts. Even during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), the mountain began to receive special attention from the emperor. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the first temple was opened -
Temple of the Five Dragons. 
Significant construction was undertaken on the mountain in the 15th century, when the Yongle Emperor summoned 300,000 troops and equipped the mountain, building numerous temple complexes. In the Wudangshan Mountains, 9 temples, 9 monasteries, 36 hermitages and 72 shrines, many gazebos, bridges and multi-tiered towers were built, forming 33 architectural ensemble. Construction in the mountains lasted 12 years from 1412. 
Emperor Yongle, who forcibly overthrew his nephew from the throne, did not have the right of inheritance, and the construction was started in order to appease the spirits and gain the support of the masses, proving his chosenness and the support of higher powers. Despite the large volume of construction, the Yongle Emperor never visited the temple complex. 
The complex of structures covered the main peak and the 72 small peaks surrounding it; the structures stretched for 80 km. 
During the Cultural Revolution in China (1966-1976), the temples were destroyed, but then restored, the mountain is actively visited by Chinese tourists and foreigners. 
In 1994, the entire complex of temples and monasteries on the mountain received UNESCO World Heritage status. 
The architecture of the complex combines the best achievements of Chinese traditional architecture over the past one and a half thousand years.
The most significant buildings: 
The Forbidden City, built at the very top of Tianzhu Mountain (the column supporting the Sky). The city was built at the same time as the Forbidden City in Beijing, it is surrounded by a thick stone wall and has four entrances. Behind the wall are several temples and at the very top is the Golden Pavilion.
Nanyang Temple
Temple of Purple Cloud
Temple of the Son of Heaven
There are several martial arts schools on the mountain, in particular Kung Fu. 
Wudangshan and popular culture
Legend has it that Wudang Mountain is the birthplace of martial arts, and Tai Chi in particular, although critical scholarship has cast doubt on this.
A wave of popular culture is associated with the monastery - wushu films and martial arts literature. In terms of popularity in popular culture, Wudangshan ranks second after Shaolin 
Mount Emeishan and the statue " Big Buddha» in Leshan 
Emeishan (Chinese: 峨嵋山, pinyin: Éméi Shān) are mountains in Sichuan province. The name of the mountain is sometimes written in characters as 峨眉山 ("High Eyebrow"), as well as 峩嵋山 and 峩眉山, but they are all pronounced the same. Emeishan, along with Putuoshan, Wutaishan and Jiuhuashan, is one of the four sacred sites of Chinese Buddhists. In 1996, UNESCO awarded this area the status of World Heritage Site. cultural heritage
The area around the mountain is covered with lava rocks formed as a result of volcanic eruptions of the Permian period. 
The Bodhisattva of this mountain is Samantabhadra, called Puxian-pusa (普贤菩萨) in Chinese. According to legend, he flew away from the top of Emeishan on his white three-headed elephant. Since then, the mountain has been considered as his eternal residence. 
In the first century AD, China's first Buddhist temple was built on the mountain.
At Wanniansi (Chinese: 万年寺, pinyin: wànniánsì, literally: "Temple of Ten Thousand Years"), the oldest temple still extant on the mountain (reconstructed in the ninth century), there is a statue of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra on his elephant, also approximately IX-X centuries. 
By the middle of the 20th century, there were more than a hundred temples on the top of the mountain, most of which were badly damaged during the Cultural Revolution. Currently, more than 20 temples have been reopened, most of which are in deplorable condition. 
Jindingsi Temple (Chinese: 金顶寺, pinyin: jīndǐngsì, literally: “Temple of the Golden Peak”), located at the very top at an altitude of 3077 meters, has been completely reconstructed. 
Since the 6th century, the mountain has been a destination of pilgrimage for Chinese Buddhists. In recent years, the number of both tourists and pilgrims has increased sharply. 
Some temples earn money for reconstruction by renting out rooms and offering food to tourists. Leads to the top cable car and two trails that often become a constant stream of tourists and pilgrims. Climbing the mountain on foot takes two to three days. 
Not far from Emeishan is the so-called Big Buddha of Leshan - a World Heritage Site that has remained the most tall statue in the world. 
Longmen Cave Temples 
Longmen (Chinese tr. 龍門石窟, ex. 龙门石窟, pinyin: lóngmén shíkū, literally: “ Stone caves at the Dragon Gate") is a complex of Buddhist cave temples in the Chinese province of Henan, 12 km south of Luoyang. Along with Mogao and Yungang, it is considered one of the three most significant cave temple complexes in China. 
Included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Carved in 495-898 into limestone rocks along the banks of the Yihe River (15 km south of the city of Luoyang) 
The caves stretch for a kilometer along the slopes of the Xianshan and Longmenshan mountains, between which there is a river. The exact number of works of art hidden in the rock is unknown. 
According to official estimates, there are 2,345 grottoes and recesses with 43 temples, which contain approx. 2800 inscriptions and about 100,000 images of religious nature. The construction of temples began in 493 during the Northern Wei Dynasty, but approximately 60% of the statues date back to the Tang Dynasty (VII-IX centuries). 
Consists of several hundred caves, the main ones (Binyan, 500-523, Guyang, 495-575, and Fengxian, 627-675) include statues of Buddhist deities (including Buddha Vairochana, 672-676, height about 15 m), reliefs depicting monks, heavenly dancers, solemn processions. The monumentally majestic sculpture of L. is characterized by graceful proportions and graphic clarity in the depiction of details, combined with a plastically soft interpretation of forms. 
Yungang Cave Temples 
Yungang Cave Grottoes (Chinese: 云冈石窟, pinyin: Yúngāng Shíkū, Pal.: Yungang Shiku) is a complex of 252 man-made caves 16 km southeast of the Chinese city of Datong, Shanxi Province. Contains up to 51,000 Buddha images, some of which reach 17 meters in height. 
Yungang represents the most complete monument of art of the Northern Wei dynasty, of which Datong was the capital. Most of the cave temples were created between 460 and 525 AD. n. BC, when Chinese Buddhism experienced its first flowering. Similar temple complexes have survived near Luoyang (Longmen) and Dunhuang (Qianfodong).
The Yungang caves with sculptures of stone Buddhas are located in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi and are the 28th world monument of cultural and historical heritage in China. Construction of the cave-temple complex, located at the southern foot of Mount Wuzhoushan, 16 kilometers from the city of Datong, began in 460 and was completed in 494, during the Northern Wei Dynasty. The cliffs, which are about one kilometer long, contain a total of 45 caves and 50,000 stone sculptures, on which not only the most skilled Chinese craftsmen worked, but also invited artisans and artists from India and Central Asia.
The Mogao Caves are world-famous ruins where monuments of Buddhist art have been discovered, as well as a cultural heritage of China and all mankind. Their construction did not stop for ten centuries, that is, it was carried out from the 4th to the 14th centuries. Mogao Caves are located on the eastern slope of Mingshashan Mountain, 25 kilometers southeast of the city of Dunhuang, which is located in the northwestern province of Gansu. The length of the caves from south to north is 1680 meters. This is truly a magnificent sight! In 1987, UNESCO included the Mogao Caves in the Register of World Cultural Heritage.
According to sources, the Mogao Caves were created in 366. When the holy elder, monk Lezun traveled to these places, he had a vision of a thousand sparkling Buddhas. He decided to create the first cave here. Subsequently, the construction of caves did not stop for one thousand five hundred years. During this time, more than a dozen dynasties changed. By the 7th century AD, during the Tang Dynasty, a grandiose complex consisting of more than a thousand caves containing Buddhist sculptures was finally created in Dunhuang. That is why the Mogao Caves are called the cave of a thousand Buddhas.
Cave temples are an example of a harmonious combination of architectural, sculptural and fresco art. For believers, they served as a place of religious worship, for others - as a magical temple, giving them the opportunity to enjoy beauty. The level of artistic skill with which the frescoes were executed allows us to judge the state of art in China in the Middle Ages; The theme of the frescoes is inspired by Buddhist legends.
Although the Mogao Caves have suffered greatly from various damages, today there are more than 700 caves preserved here, of which 492 caves contain painted statues and murals, covering a total area of 45 thousand square meters.
In addition, there are about 50 thousand Buddhist manuscripts and other valuables found here by a monk named Wang in the Cangjingdong Cave, which served as a repository for sacred Buddhist sutras. Among them are about 1000 drawings on silk, prints, embroideries and calligraphy samples. If you put all the frescoes, statues and drawings on silk in one row, then the length of such a “scroll” will exceed 30 kilometers. These historical works contain information about the history, geography, politics, national composition, military art, knowledge of philology, calligraphy, religion, art, medicine, science and technology of China, South and Central Asia, as well as Europe. No wonder they are called the “encyclopedia of the Middle Ages.”
After the Taoist monk Wang discovered caves where Buddhist sutras were kept, he took several of them and sold them. As these cultural treasures spread among the people, the news of the repository of ancient manuscripts in the Mogao Caves spread like lightning throughout China. So-called “researchers” began to flock here from everywhere. With the connivance of the Qing government, in less than 20 years, such “researchers” from Russia, Great Britain, France, Japan, the USA and other countries plundered Dunhuang, they took away about 40 thousand sacred Buddhist canons and a huge number of fragments of wall paintings, sculptures, causing enormous damage to the monument devastation.
Currently, Dunhuang cultural treasures are kept in museums and private collections in the UK, France, Russia, India, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the Republic of Korea, Finland and the USA. The total value of the stolen relics is 2/3 of all cultural property remaining in China. After the discovery of the caves in which they were Buddhist relics, a number of Chinese scientists began to study them under extremely difficult conditions. In 1910, the first books dedicated to Dunhuang were published, and it was then that a special area of study dedicated to this issue appeared.
For several decades, scientists around the world began to study the art of Dunhuang with great interest, in particular, the results of research by Chinese scientists had far-reaching prospects for further study. As a priceless treasure belonging to Chinese culture, the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang were constantly under close guard by the Chinese government. In 1950, the Mogao Caves were included in the list of the first objects that are under special state protection.
In 1987, UNESCO included them in the Register of World Cultural Heritage. Today, at the foot of Sanweishan Mountain, which is located opposite the Mogao Caves, the Dunhuang Art Museum has been created. This Museum has recreated the appearance of some of the caves; this is the only way to preserve the cultural values of the caves by opening them to the general public. Foreign tourists, after visiting the pavilion, highly appreciate the treasures of the Mogao Caves: “This is the greatest treasury of Buddhist art in the world.”
The Mogao Caves are a rock complex that was once a site for Buddhist prayer and pilgrimage. Their story began in the distant 4th century, when a vision appeared before the monk Lo Tsun, who by the will of fate found himself on the top of a cliff.
It was at this place that he cut down the first cave. By chance or not, the Great One passed by Silk Road, so he soon had many associates who wanted to set up a personal place for prayer. Gradually their number grew and eventually reached 1000.
In the 14th century, Buddhists left the Mogao caves and were forgotten for a long time, until the beginning of the 20th century. When restoration work began, part of the niches and the cultural heritage stored in them was lost forever.
Today Mogao is home to 500 caves, each containing wall paintings, sculptures and objects related to Buddhism. The time for creating masterpieces varies. The authors of some are known, the names of others are a mystery. In fact, this is a real encyclopedia from which you can study the movements that have ever existed in Buddhism. Nowadays, specialists from different countries peace.
Only 30 caves are open to tourists, but this is enough to get an idea of the past and present of Buddhism. When going on an excursion, please note that all entrances are closed with steel doors, which can only be opened by an accompanying employee. Therefore, most likely, individual visitors will have to join an organized group. In addition, Mogao has no lighting at all, so you need to have a flashlight with you. It can be rented at the box office.
To help guests navigate the caves well, they are numbered. The largest, No. 96, is business card complex. It was in honor of her that it got its name. The main attraction stored under this vault is a 34.5-meter statue of Buddha, considered the largest interior statue in the world.
When planning a trip to the Mogao Caves, you must definitely take into account that the number of visitors who can visit the complex every day is limited to six thousand people. That is why it is better to book a ticket in advance - on the official website or at one of the ticket offices.
Attractions nearby
Not far from the Mogao Caves there is another famous attraction of the region - Yueyaquan Lake, which has the shape of a crescent. Around it, surrounded by dunes, a small but very beautiful oasis has formed, which is rightfully considered one of the “Chinese pearls”.
Where to stay
There are no hotels in the immediate vicinity of the Mogao Caves. It will be most convenient to stay in the city of Dunhuang, located 20 kilometers away. There are a lot of accommodation options here - from budget hostels, for example Dunhuang Taoyuan Hostel or Dunhuang 8090 Guest House, where you can spend a night in a dormitory room for 8 guests for 350-400 rubles per person, to the luxurious four-star The Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel, more like a palace. True, for a double room you will have to pay at least 5,000 rubles per day.
How to get to Mogao Caves
You need to start your journey to the Mogao Caves from the already mentioned city of Dunhuang. From railway station A minibus departs regularly and takes you directly to the place. Another option is a taxi. Of course, it will cost more. In addition, you need to bargain with the drivers - they never turn on the taximeters on the Dunhuang-Mogao Caves route.
