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@ruolin - Unsplash莫高窟 / Mogao Caves
📍 China
The Mogao Caves are a Buddhist cave-temple complex near Dunhuang, within Jiuquan in western Gansu, where Silk Road routes linked China with Central Asia. Carved into a desert cliff, the caves preserve murals and painted sculptures created over roughly a millennium, beginning in the fourth century. Buddhist narratives, donor portraits and scenes of daily life reveal the beliefs and artistic exchanges that shaped this oasis. The Library Cave, rediscovered in 1900, contained manuscripts and paintings in several languages, providing an extraordinary record of Silk Road culture. Outside, rows of cave entrances punctuate the pale cliff, while the nine-story pavilion sheltering a giant Buddha gives the complex its most recognizable silhouette. Visitors enter selected caves on guided routes, and photography is prohibited inside, making the cliff face and temple exteriors the main photographic subjects.
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