Mogao Grottos in Gansu Province,

9. Sketch Map

According to records in inscriptions of Tang Dynasty, Mo Gao Cave was inaugurated in 366 AD. The project of creating caves and making Buddhist statues continued for one thousand years by 14th century, throughout Dynasties of Northern Liang, Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Hui Hu, Western Xia, Yuan. It is a complex of caves spreading 1680 meters long from south to north including more than 700 caves, of them 492 caves contain more than 2000 color statues and 45000 square meters of frescos and five wooden structured eaves. The Mo Gao Cave is by far the most well-preserved Buddhist relic in the world, with the largest scale, longest history, and richest content.