Mogao Caves
UNESCO World Heritage Site (1987); Major Historical And Cultural Site Protected At The National Level; Managed By The Dunhuang Academy · Dunhuang, Gansu
A cliff face of 735 Buddhist cave temples outside Dunhuang, cut and painted over a thousand years from 366 CE, holding some 45,000 square metres of murals and more than 2,000 painted sculptures - the richest surviving gallery of Buddhist art on the Silk Road. Visits are by mandatory guided tour beginning at the Digital Exhibition Centre near Dunhuang, whose dome films precede the shuttle to the caves themselves. Cave 17, the Library Cave, sealed around the year 1000 and reopened in 1900, held tens of thousands of manuscripts, including the Diamond Sutra of 868, the world's oldest dated printed book. Only a rotating selection of caves opens each day.
Mogaoku Road, 25 km southeast of Dunhuang, Dunhuang, Gansu, China
Daily; peak season roughly 8:00-18:00, off-season shorter, by timed tour from the Digital Exhibition Centre. English tour slots limited to fixed daily times.