Mogao Grottos, or Mogao Caves, is located in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China. There are 492 caves with dedicated fresco, statues and paintings that started to construct since 366A.D. While a monk Yuezong was walking to Sanwei Mountain, he saw the Buddha with halo behind him standing on the top on the hill, he decided to collect donation to construct the first cave here in 366 A.D. After him, there were numerous Buddhists and painters coming here to work generation by generation during various dynasties, Northern Liang, Northern Wei, Sui, Tang, Song, and Yuan etc. The characteristic of the cave tells the construction period. There are rich frescos painted on the wall of the caves that were donors with local costumes so that we can imagine their life during 1000 some years ago.
As the rich cultural relics in Mogao Caves are so unusual and well-preserved in Dunhuang, there are scholars focused on the study of the caves that is named after Dunhuang Study to explore the art, Buddhism, scriptures and books discovered here.
Dunhuang Caves were inscribed on the list of World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987.
