The Mogao Grottoes: Well-known Tourist Attraction Sites In China

The Mogao Grottoes Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Course Title Instructor Date The Mogao Grottoes Mogao caves are well-known tourist attraction sites in China with each year having numerous tourists coming from all over the world to visit. Mogao caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes are a mysterious place for Chinese people. In the past, Mogao caves played an important role in China. Nowadays, Mogao caves still is an invaluable asset (Larmer, 2010). In 1987, the Mogao Caves were inscribed on the World Heritage List. The location of Mogao caves is extremely special. When I mentioned this, you may have a question, what are some specials for Mogao caves location? Mogao Caves are located 25 kilometres southeast of the centre of Dunhuang. The oasis is strategically located at the crossroads of religious culture at the Silk Road in Gansu Province, China. Thus, the Mogao caves are also set in a historical place (Perlez, 2015). Dunhuang city was a border guard station established by the Emperor whose name is Han Wudi in Han Dynasty. The purpose of this build-up of this city was to prevent the Xiongnu which was the biggest enemy for Han Dynasty in 111 BC. In addition, Gansu became an important gateway to the west. Dunhuang, located in North-west of China, has another name for this city is which is the “ City of Dessert”, and this is how this city was recognized as a unique location. In the long historical period, Dunhuang was recognized as a centre for a lot of commerce and camel caravan (Pruch & Whitfield, 2008). The road for camel caravan is as well known as the Silk Road. Silk Road is filled with strongest colour of religion culture. As the formation of caves is closely related with the Buddhism, so it is under the influence of religion and culture, Mogao caves have a strong feature of religion with mystery. 1.What are some specials for Mogao caves location? Sculptures and murals that are brightly coloured are some of the special attributes of the Magao Grottoes, which are also referred as the Magao or Duhuang Caves, or the Thousand-Buddhas Caves. The silk paintings, manuscripts, murals, and countless sutras are some of the factors that drew worldwide attention to the Mogao Grottoes, attracting explorers to conduct studies on the Dunhuang (Muramatsu, Onishi & Kitamoto, 2010). With the discovery of thousands of priceless manuscripts in 1990s in the caves, Cave 16 was given the name “the Library Cave” while the manuscripts came to be known as the Dunhuang Manuscripts. Since the Library Cave was discovered, expedition teams from across the world have come to the Mogao Grottoes. However, some of the most famous relics have been moved from their original locations and taken to museums in other parts of the world, thus initiating the first ever global research on Dunhuanology fields. Another strategic point located at the Mogao Grottoes is the Silk Route, which is regarded as the crossroads of business and trade, which also include cultural, religious, and intellectual functions. The Mogao region has 492 cave sanctuaries and caves which makes the place famous for their wall paintings and statues that span more than 1,000 years of Buddhist art (unesco.org, 2018). The Mogao Caves, which borders the Du...