Throughout Dunhuang's history over two thousand years, it has always served as a critical gateway to the west, because of its unique geographical location at the juncture of Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang. As a result, throughout the Chinese long history, several emperors have made improvements of these western fortifications. However, Dunhuang was also a regional cultural center. The Mogao Grottoes, also known as the Dunhuang Grottoes or the "Thousand Buddha Grottoes", is located on the western cliffs of the Singing Sands Mountains. It is one of the most complete collections of Buddhist frescoes and sculpture from a period range over ten dynasties.

Local Features: Buddhist Grottoes of Dunhuang

The Buddhist Grottoes of Dunhuang at Mogao are a great treasure house of Buddhist art. The art forms of architectures, sculptures and paintings are combined organically into the great expressions of Buddha worship that have begun from the Han Dynasty and continued through the Tang, for more than 1,000 years. After the discovery of approximately 50,000 Buddhist writings and Holy Scriptures at Dunhuang around 1900, Dunhuang gained a great fame for its Buddhist art relics. It was only natural that the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization have listed Dunhuang's Mogao Grottoes on its list of the world's cultural legacies worthy of special protection in December of 1987. The mural paintings of Dunhuang are especially famous and focus on presenting images of the Buddha and Buddhist legends, but also include examples of landscape paintings, historic architectures, portraits of the noble patrons, various auspicious animals, plants and other decorations. One of the main themes of the frescoes is the fiction; heavenly maidens painted into the frescoes act as frames on the murals or otherwise decorate the paintings. 

The best time to visit Dunhuang and the ancient Silk Road is from May through October. In the depths of Inland China, Dunhuang has a very dry climate. It has three special characteristics. The first is lots of direct sunshine. The second is little rainfall. The annual average rainfall here is only 39.9 mm. The rainfall in summer is 63.9 percent of annual rainfall while winter rainfall is only 7.5 percent. Therefore, evaporation can be a problem in this climate. The third is the climate's four distinct seasons. Winter and summer have huge temperature differences (annual temperature difference reaches 34 degrees). Lastly, sand storms can be a problem in the Dunhuang, with the wind sometimes reaching speeds of 3m/sec.

Dining Overview

As the main staple of the local diet, it revolves around wheat flour noodles. Noodles are served with lamb, chicken, or beef. On the other hand, Dunhuang Rang Pizi (a special food in the western area) has long been one of the most popular dishes in the city. These noodles are actually made from pea flour and are clear, white, cool and slippery. The noodles are seasoned with hot peppers for a cool, yet spicy feel that is just perfect for desert weather (as least that's what the locals would say!). Shazhou Night Market is one of the best places in Dunhuang to try authentic Dunhuang specialties. Virtually all of the very best of Dunhuang's northwestern cuisine can be found here: Saozi Noodle, stuffed bread and even mutton kebabs. In addition, you will also have opportunity to sample Huanghe sweet melons, grapes and Hami melons.

Entertainment Overview

During the peak tourist season (from June to October) the Dunhuang Hotel arranges performances of song and dances from 6pm to 8pm every evening, known as the "Summer of Dunhuang". This show means to be a complete reflection of the culture of Silk Road. You can see examples of the folk art of the Muslim, Tibetan, Uigur and Mongolian peoples of China's "wild west". Part of the show's repertoire is an interpretation of a dance depicted in the frescoes of the Mogao Grottoes!

Shopping Overview

The Shazhou Night Market is the largest outdoor market in Dunhuang. The entire market is unofficially divided into separate specialty areas such as handicrafts, antiques, tea and local products. The road in front of the market is lined with over 100 stalls specializing in selling handicrafts and other cultural odds and ends like crystal, jade, Dunhuang silk carpets and "glow in the dark" stone cups made from local materials. However, the vendors drive hard bargains and it may be difficult to drive down prices.

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Link

http://grid.lzu.edu.cn/chinagrid2008/index.html

Silk Road to China: A site about the Silk Road, especially Dunhuang, with maps and cave art.