Mesmerizing Mogao Caves highlight of recent excursion

I decided to celebrate my 41st birthday recently by taking a trip to Gansu province.

For part of that trip, I put Dunhuang, a county-level city, on my list of places to go. Dunhuang is home to the Mogao Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site that boasts an ancient collection of Buddhist art. I love visiting historical places, so a trip to Mogao was perfect for me.

My very early flight from Beijing to Dunhuang took a bit more than three hours. I stepped outside of the airport and into a city that is basically an oasis in a vast desert. Giant sand dunes surround the area as far as the eye can see.

On the first day of my visit, I went to the Dunhuang Museum. The museum does a great job telling the story about the city's critical role as a major hub on the Silk Road, a vital trade route between China and the Western world dating to around 2 BC. There are plenty of artifacts on display there－pottery, old tools, scraps of silk and various relics can be viewed throughout.

Also on display was－me. At least for some of the visitors who saw me, especially children who happened to be on a school trip there that day. I drew a lot of attention (something I'm still becoming accustomed to in China), and several people asked to take pictures with me.

That evening, I went to a restaurant in the Shazhou night market area. I wound up ordering what turned out to be something like a Xinjiang pizza－mutton, potatoes and onions with herbs and seasoning, served atop a circular flat bread. It was quite good, but it was too much food for me. I wound up not being able to finish it.

The next morning, I set out for Mogao Caves. I had discovered that as a foreigner, it wasn't possible for me to reserve my ticket in advance, so I had to go to the Mogao Caves visitor center to buy it in person. Unfortunately, all the morning tickets were already sold out, so I had to come back for the afternoon session at 2:30 pm. I bought that ticket, 258 yuan ($40) for a tour of eight caves with an English-speaking guide, and then I decided I would go back to my hotel to get a bit more rest (I was already pretty tired because I hadn't been sleeping well). As I waited for a taxi to take me back, I was yet again accosted by curious onlookers who wanted to take pictures with me. I laughed and indulged them.

I returned for the afternoon session on time and a bit more refreshed. Upon showing my ticket and entering the visitor center, I was herded along with dozens of other tourists into movie theaters to watch two separate films about the history of the city and the caves. The caves were first dug out by a traveling Buddhist monk in the year 366 AD. Over time, other people would come and carve out other caves, creating a system of Buddhist temples with various statues and murals that remained fairly well preserved over the centuries.

After the films, we boarded buses to go to the site of the caves. I had to wait a while for my guide, but she eventually appeared－a young Chinese woman whose English name is Anna. Since I was the only English-speaking foreigner there, I had her all to myself.

Anna took me to cave after cave and taught me a great deal about the artwork inside. I was very impressed with how well preserved everything was; most of the art I saw was created during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), which means everything inside was more than 1,000 years old! My only regret is that no photography was allowed in the caves, with or without flashes. I really wish I could've taken pictures.

I highly recommend Dunhuang and the Mogao Caves to anyone, foreigner or Chinese citizen, yearning for a taste of rich history.