DunHuang Mogao Caves
- Address: Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Gansu, China
- Visting Time:3 Hours
- Hours: Open today · 8AM–5:30PM
- Phone: +86 937 886 9060
- Designated as world heritage site: 1987
- Website:https://www.mogaoku.net/
- Tickets:200 RMB/Per
DunHuang Mogao Caves
The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes, are located southeast of the Dunhuang city center.
The caves were first built during the Eastern Jin and Sixteen Kingdoms period （304AD-439AD) and were carved for over a millennium until the end of the Yuan Dynasty(1271AD-1368AD).
They house a vast collection of murals, caves, and cultural relics, making it a world-renowned site for Buddhist art.
Visitors can admire the grand scale and rich content of the caves and mural art, as well as learn about the development history of Buddhism in Dunhuang for over a thousand years through explanations and film displays.
Things You Need to Know
1.The Mogao Caves scenic area now consists of two parts
- The Mogao Caves Digital Exhibition Center
- The Mogao Caves
2.Ticketing
Visitors must first book their tickets online and visit during the designated time slot.
Only 6,000 visitors are allowed to enter the site each day.Book in advance is highly recommended.
Reservation: Official website: https://www.mgk.org.cn/
3.Sightseeing Route
Step 1:Reserving and obtaining tickets
Step 2: Visitors Must first go to the Mogao Caves Digital Exhibition Center to watch two films, each lasting 20 minutes.
—“Millennium Mogao,” introduces the history and culture of the Mogao Caves, helping visitors to gain a deeper understanding of the site.
—“Dreamlike Buddha Palace,” is a dome-screen film that showcases many of the caves that are currently not open to the public and is extremely impressive.
Step 3: Take shuttle bus to the Mogao Caves.
The scenic area provides guided tours, and visitors are divided into groups and enter the site in batches, usually visiting only 8-10 caves each time for about an hour.
There are English speaking guide for foreign visitors.
Step 4: After the visit, visitors must take the scenic area’s shuttle bus back to the digital exhibition center near the train station to end the tour.
An important cache of documents was discovered in 1900 in the so-called “Library Cave,” which had been walled-up in the 11th century. The contents of the library were subsequently dispersed around the world, and the largest collections are now found in Beijing, London, Paris and Berlin, and the International Dunhuang Project exists to coordinate and collect scholarly work on the Dunhuang manuscripts and other material. The caves themselves are now a popular tourist destination, with a number open for visiting. more info
The Mogao Caves are located 16 miles (25km) southeast of Dunhuang and can be reached by city bus from outside the Dunhuang Hotel or Silk Road Hotel or by taxi.
DunHuang Mogao Caves Photo
DunHuang Mogao Caves Video
DunHuang Mogao Caves Tourist Map
DunHuang Mogao Caves Travel Guide
Mogao Grottoes Tickets are divided into two types: A and B.
Tickets A
Class A is a regular ticket. For 200 yuan, you can visit 8 caves. You need to book one month in advance, limited to 6,000 tickets per day.
Tickets B
Class B tickets are the same day emergency tickets, 100 yuan can see four. Caves, but individual customers want to buy emergency tickets can only ask for various travel agencies, will increase extra two or three hundred, the price is very low cost effective
- Do not touch any murals or statues with your hands;
- camera, selfie, luggage…. forbidden to bring into cave,you can store at the gate.
- after you buy admission tickets, you can visit 8 caves, further if you want into special cave, still buy extra tickets including tour guide.
- Mogao Grotto now has a distribution center near Dunhuang City. After watching the ball screen movie, take a shuttle bus to the scenic spot. The scenery is divided into 25-30 teams. Each team can see 8 caves in the peak season.special caves need to be paid extra to visit.
- You can’t take pictures in the Mogao Grottoes. Although you can take the camera in, don’t sneak it and you will be caught!
- Mogao Grottoes must book tickets online in advance, and the number is limited every day! And need to be precise!
- reserve website： www.mgk.org.cn/index.htm
- Don’t think that you have booked a few points. If you have time to go, don’t do this! The time of booking is the time when the ball screen movie begins. It must arrive in advance and queue up for security check-in. Don’t miss the screen movie. It is so shocking and great! I will regret it if I don’t see it!
- Please don’t miss the group. The number of channels in each of team’s wireless headsets is different. If you are in trouble with it, you can’t enter the cave and you can’t hear it…
Why is Mogao Grotto not allowed to take pictures?
The main reason for the prohibition of photographing in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes is: “The space inside the grotto is small, and there are many tourists every day. The photo stop may cause disorder in the order.
At the same time, tourists stay in the cave for a long time to produce a lot of carbon dioxide, and the humidity and temperature changes will increase. The grotto “decays” and the pigment particles dissolve, causing the mural picture to fall off.”
Most of the caves are dark and have no permanent lighting. Every visitor needs to be led by a commentator to get in. The explainer will use the flashlight for local illumination. It is really difficult to take a mural without a tripod and a professional camera.
- This is the same as the temple does not allow photographs, the purpose is to allow visitors to quietly appreciate the cultural relics, not to be frequently frightened by the flash. In addition, it is also to maintain a solemn atmosphere on the scene.
- Photooxidation reaction
- Because of the copyright, everyone took photos, and the HD mural photography collection sold by Mogao Grottoes could not be sold, infringing the copyright of the photo collection.
Mogao Grottoes Digital Exhibition Center (莫高窟数字展示中心)
The visit to the Mogao Grottoes begins with the Mogao Grottoes Digital Display Center. Before departing for the cave, visitors will watch two digital films at the Mogao Grottoes Digital Display Center: the theme film “Millennium Mogao” introduces the history of the Mogao Grottoes that lasted nearly 1700 years and the background of the cave construction;
The ball-screen movie “Fantasy Buddha Palace” shows visitors the seven digital caves of the Mogao Grottoes. Through the display of all-dimensional and three-dimensional virtual cave scenes and the dissemination of various information, visitors can experience the immersive visits and learn about the history, culture, art and caves associated with Mogao Grottoes in advance. Construction and many other information.
The Mogao Grotto A class ticket includes themed movies and the ball screen movie, if you have not bought a Class A ticket! Then you can buy a Class B ticket + a Class C ticket. In this form, you can visit a physical cave or watch two digital movies!
Three Halls and One Center(莫高窟三馆一中心)
“Three Halls and One Center” refers to the Dunhuang Cangjing Cave Exhibition Hall, the Dunhuang Research Institute History Exhibition Hall, the Dunhuang Research Institute Art Museum, and the Dunhuang Grottoes Cultural Relics Research and Exhibition Center.
“Three Halls and One Center” is open to visitors free of charge (Tibetan Cave Exhibition Hall requires Class A tickets), showing the history of the seal, discovery and circulation of the Tibetan Buddhist Scriptures and the contents of the Tibetan Buddhist Scriptures and their precious values; Dunhuang Research The course of selfless dedication and hard work of generations in the 75th year of the hospital, as well as the fruitful achievements of the protection, research and promotion of Mogao Grottoes; the fascinating paintings of the murals of Dunhuang art in 1650, the supporters and the Dunhuang posthumous writings; Dunhuang Grottoes An overview of the essence of art and the course of development.
After visiting the cave, you want to know more about Dunhuang culture and Dunhuang Grottoes. The “Three Halls and One Center” is definitely worth a visit.
