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Couple on Roof, New York City, Photo by Arthur Tress, 1975

Uyghur king from Turfan attended by servants, Cave 409, Dunhuang Mogao Caves, Western Xia, Gansu Uyghur period, 11th century.

The Mogao Caves (Chinese: 莫高窟; pinyin: mògāo kū; lit. “caves of unsurpassed height”), open to visitors since 1980—though only forty caves are accessible at any given time, with ten permanently open—constitute a complex of 492 Buddhist chapels adorned with wall paintings and sculptures. They form part of the broader Dunhuang cave system in Gansu Province, China, on the fringes of the Gobi Desert. In total, 735 caves were excavated, of which 492 contain painted and/or sculpted decoration. These sanctuaries were hewn into the cliff face by monks beginning in the 4th century. Monastic communities soon undertook the carving of larger chambers in the sandstone as acts of public devotion, embellishing them with images of the Buddha. Such caves, housing vast numbers of painted and sculpted Buddhas, came to be known collectively as “Thousand-Buddha Caves.” Some even contain monumental Buddha statues of impressive scale.

Uniquely at Mogao, Buddhist monks stored tens of thousands of manuscripts and paintings in a small side chamber attached to one of the caves. This room was later sealed—though the date and circumstances remain uncertain—and rediscovered in the early 20th century. The find coincided with the rise of sinology and a renewed Western interest in Chinese art, and in France with the expertise of Paul Pelliot. Thanks to the warnings and enthusiasm of this young sinologist, Chinese scholars, despite the turbulence of the era, succeeded in preserving much of what is now recognized as a national treasure.

The Mogao Caves served as major centers of worship along the Silk Road. Their construction spanned an exceptionally long period, from the 4th to the 14th century: from the Northern Liang, or Earlier Liang dynasty (beginning in 366), to the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), reaching its zenith under the Tang dynasty between the 7th and 10th centuries. The finest caves date from this flourishing period. After the Kizil Caves, they are likely the oldest surviving cave complexes in China to be entirely covered with mural paintings.