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The Mogao Caves in China are a UNESCO World Heritage Site containing thousands of Buddhist art examples spanning over 1,000 years. The caves were used by monks for meditation and manuscript storage. Tours are available, but restrictions limit access to only a few temples.
The Mogao Caves are a collection of various cave temples in China. They are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and have been since 1987. The Mogao Caves span a period of over 1,000 years and contain literally thousands of examples of Buddhist religious art.
In the 4th century, a Buddhist monk would have had a vision of a thousand different Buddhas. This inspired him to begin excavating an immense cave complex, intended to house a thousand different temples. Buddhist hermits settled in the Mogao caves, carving out their own temple, collecting religious documents, and living a life of quiet meditation. Pilgrims passing through the area often stopped at the Mogao Grottoes and sometimes left art objects or paintings on the cave walls.
The various paintings and murals inside the Mogao Grottoes served different purposes. Some were intended to help create a relaxing environment conducive to the meditation that was the daily work of the monks who lived there. Others were intended to serve as teaching tools, tell historical stories, or relate various aspects of Buddhist doctrine. All told, the murals in the Mogao Grottoes cover nearly 500,000 square feet (46,000 square meters).
For centuries the caves also acted as repositories for handwritten Buddhist manuscripts. Monks collected these manuscripts from pilgrims, made their own, and kept them safe. When new printing technology became available in the 10th century, these manuscripts were no longer as important. Huge quantities of manuscripts were essentially dumped at the back of the caves in trash heaps, and the caves were eventually sealed.
In the early 20th century, these sealed caves were discovered, and the amazing treasures that had been kept safe there have sparked great interest in Mogao Caves. The Chinese, Indians, and Europeans sent expeditions to tidy up the manuscripts found in the Mogao Caves, and large numbers were smuggled out of China at the time. Over the following decades the search continued, and continues today, with constant research ongoing.
Visiting the Mogao Grottoes requires a ticket and tours are included. It is important to ask for English speaking tours if you don’t speak Chinese, otherwise you will be placed in a Chinese tour group and get much less out of the experience. Photography is not permitted, sadly, and red tape prevents visitors from experiencing much of the Mogao Grottoes. Of the nearly 500 Mogao cave temples, tours rarely visit more than a handful, and solo exploration is not permitted.
The lack of openness at the Mogao Grottoes is commonly cited as a serious problem for visitors. While the government is trying to protect the treasures that still remain in the caves and allow the Mogao Caves to be accessible to researchers, sometimes the restrictions they place on tourists border on the draconian. Many people prefer the Yungang Grottoes in Shanxi or the Dazu Rock Carvings near Chongqing, as both offer examples of early Chinese Buddhist art and carvings, with more openness for visitors.
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