Walking the Wall

The Mogao Caves are a reminder that the Silk Road was not simply an important trade route, it was also an avenue for less material exchange. In the second, third and fourth centuries AD, Buddhist monks accompanied traders from India on their Silk Road treks and spread their teachings through China. In 366 AD, a local monk excavated a cave temple for meditation in the cliffs along a river about 25 kilometres southeast of Dunhuang.

Religion and commerce were entwined at Dunhuang, and for the next thousand years rich merchants funded the excavation of additional caves, as well as the painting of murals and the construction of elaborate altars and statues within the caves. Today there are 735 caves at Mogao containing 45,000 square metres of murals and over 240 painted sculptures. It is considered the greatest collection of Buddhist art in China.

Access to the caves is strictly controlled to ensure their preservation, but with a guide you can tour between 12 and 15 of them.

Inside there is enough variety and spectacle to impress the most naïve of tourists (like us) or the most jaded museum hound. Most caves seem to be about 6-8 metres tall, some with A-frame ceilings, some with inverted funnels, all constructed to ensure the structural integrity of the cliffside.

Along the cave walls there are vast murals. Some are elaborate storyboards depicting events in the life of Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha. In other caves there are thousands of tiny Buddha images, each identical in size but with tiny variations in facial expression or pose. Huge painted statues of the Buddha flanked by graceful bodhisattvas sit upon the altars. Carved into the back wall of one cave there is a 34.5 metre high statue of a Buddha, which was commissioned by Wu Zetian, the only female empress in Chinese history.

No photography is allowed inside, as the flashes needed to light the dim interiors degrade the paintings. However, it is possible to photograph a few faded murals outside the entrances to the caves. The images we’ve posted below cannot even begin to hint at the splendour of the artwork within the caves, but we hope you’ll enjoy them.

Flying apsaras are divine dancers and musicians who serve and protect the Buddha

Paintings on the caves’ outer walls have been degraded by time

Apsara above a wooden structure from the Song Dynasty (907-1276)

As our plane descends into Dunhuang we can see traces of the foundations of ancient buildings, ruins that have been preserved by the dry desert air. It’s obvious people have been here for a long time.

The ancient city of Hecang, outside Dunhuang

Even so, it’s hard to imagine living in such a desolate landscape, until the plane turns and we can see the lush greenery of Dunhuang, an oasis city in western Gansu province. We’re spending a few days here before moving on to Jiayuguan to begin our walk.

Dunhuang is famous as the last outpost of Chinese civilisation on the Silk Road. For thousands of years, caravans entered and exited China bearing luxury goods – jade, silk and spices. Most of those caravans would have stopped in Dunhuang.

It’s apparent at a glance what made Dunhuang what it is: water. Snowmelt from the Mingsha Mountains to the south runs off to the plain below, so while Dunhuang is surrounded by barren gravel and dunes, in downtown Dunhuang you can walk or bicycle along shady streets. It’s reasonably cool even in the middle of the afternoon.

Dunhuang’s location between the agricultural areas of the Hexi Corridor in China (where we’ll be starting our walk) and the vast deserts of central Asia made it an important strategic location in the Han Dynasty (202 BC – AD 220), as any party attempting to enter China was compelled to stop in Dunhuang to resupply. In approximately 100 BC, the Han built Yumenguan, also known as the Jade Gate, and Yangguan, or “South Pass,” to defend this strategic location.

Yumenguan is a bumpy three-hour drive from Dunhuang past sand dunes and low-lying craggy mountains. We could see mirages on the horizon, huge lakes of shimmering nothingness.

When we got to the pass, a Chinese tourist group was just leaving and we had the place to ourselves. Yumenguan is an enormous box of rammed loess, and set against the desert sky it’s an impressive sight.

Emma at Yumenguan (Jade Gate Pass)

After two more hours of desert driving we reached Yangguan. The fortress itself is small compared to Yumenguan, but it holds a commanding position on a hilltop.

A sturdy fence protects Yangguan

Below the pass is the small town of Nanhu, whose poplar-lined road separates one-storey white-walled houses and restaurants from acres of vineyards. At about 7 pm, when we stopped for dinner, the street was busy with kids on bikes and women chatting in doorways.

By the time we had finished our meal, our poor driver was keen to get home after eight hard hours of desert driving. But Yangguan was glowing against the Mingsha Mountains as the sun set, and we persuaded him to stop for one last photo.

Yangguan at sunset