The Mogao Caves are located in a little oasis just outside Dunhuang city. I arrived at 2.30 p.m. and had to wait until a small group had gathered. I forgot to ask about an English-speaking guide at the ticket booth which is about 1 kilometer away from the cave entrance. So I ended up on a Chinese tour, with 11 other visitors. Photographing is not allowed.

The tour took us to nine of the caves plus the Hidden Library exhibition. The caves we visited included the two large buddhas, the reclining buddha and examples of Wei and Tang dynasty carvings. The story of the Hidden Library, and how its contents were first given away by its discoverer Wang Yuanlu and later 'bought' by non-Chinese explorers (British, American, Russian and Japanese) plays a prominent role in the tour. I got the feeling that the extremely strict visiting rules of today are compensation for this past abuse.

This was my final visit to the four groups of Buddhist rock art in China (Dazu, Longmen and Yungang were the others). The Mogao Caves are the oldest of these four, and differ from the others because of their elaborate wall paintings and decorated floors.

My feelings about visiting Mogao are a mixture of these described below by Paul Tanner and Renae in their reviews. Visiting out-of-season and in the late afternoon is definitely a plus. Also the tours now all take two hours and have good guides, which is good value for the 80 Yuan entry fee (100 Yuan if you want a guide in a foreign language). But, there is a but, I only got to know the immensity of this site after I bought a book about them, and got to see what is in all the other caves. The tour does give you a good sample of the styles, but the wealth behind these doors must be overwhelming. I didn't leave Mogao with the same Wow-feeling that I had in Dazu and Yungang where everything is out in the open and for all to see.