When one writes a WHS review there is perhaps a feeling that one needs to emphasise what a great experience the visit was – after all one put a lot of time, effort and money into getting there! The Mogao Caves however provided what must be one of the worst “viewing experiences” of the 400+ WHS we have seen to date! We have travelled in China 5 times, 4 of these independently, and to most areas, so are experienced in the frustrations and difficulties of a Westerner trying to see that country – the crowds, the hassle, the rip-offs, the shrug of the shoulders accompanied by “mei banfa” (“there’s no way”) to show that the person you are dealing with “doesn’t give a damn” etc - but recognise that there are many compensations too!

In 1996 we were crossing from Islamabad to Beijing along the “Silk Road” and had reached the oasis of Dunhuang, the nearest town to the Mogao caves. In front of the site was a vast car park with hundreds of minibuses and crowds of people. Only groups are allowed inside and, as 2 foreigners, we had to wait for ages in a room until a few more people of various nationalities had congregated. We paid the large differential charges for foreigners and were then rushed through a few caves by a poor guide. No photos were allowed inside the fenced area – ie not just inside the caves themselves (which is not unreasonable to spare the paintings from flash deterioration – but one can’t avoid the feeling that it is more to save the postcard monopoly!). Many of the best caves were closed, only available at an extra fee or to VIPs. The others were incredibly crowded – and there can be few things noisier than a crowd of Chinese in a cave!

I can honestly say that I remember little of the “fabulous art” on display!

Now, we fully appreciate that WHS sites are not on the list purely for tourists to visit and there is no doubt that the Mogao caves justify their inscription for their art, manuscripts and what they represent historically. The story of how they were “rediscovered” in 1907 and how the “perfidious” British (originally Hungarian) archaeologist Aurel Stein persuaded the simple monk Wang to allow 1000s of the most valuable manuscripts to be spirited away (and was followed a year later by a Frenchman before the Chinese government stopped the transactions) is the stuff of archaeological legend. Look on the British Museum Web site under “Mogao” and you will see just how much they still have – including the “Diamond Sutra”, the World’s oldest dated “printed” book.

But our mindset and the circumstances of the visit perhaps detracted from our appreciation of what we saw. I fully admit to not finding Buddhist art particularly enthralling – yet another cave full of paintings of Bodhisattvas and Apsaras! I rather shamefacedly admit to a similar feeling in western museums such as the Uffizi on entering a room full of paintings of fleshy cherubs – all very nice and colourful but does it really do anything for me?

The desert cliff-side location of Mogao could/should provide atmosphere and help one imagine this place in the 4th century when it was on the trade route by which Buddhism ENTERED China (think of Bamiyan in pre-Islamic Central Asia)! Despite their rip-off prices to foreigners the Chinese make no attempt to present the place in a historical or artistic context. We had already seen other caves from this movement at Bezeklik near Turpan. These are in a more impressive setting albeit that the art inside them is in no way comparable.

So, unless you are doing the Silk Road for other reasons or are great aficionados of Buddhist art and want to see it in situ, I wouldn’t bother making the long journey to Dunhuang. There are plenty of other significant Buddhist caves in China, 3 of which are WHS (Dazu, Longmen and Yungang)