Dunhuang

It is located near the historic junction of the northern and southern Silk Roads, and was therefore a town of military importance.

For centuries Buddhist monks at Dunhuang collected scriptures from the west, and many pilgrims passed through the area, painting murals inside the Mogao Caves. Today, the site is an important tourist attraction and the subject of an ongoing archaeological project.

Rocked by waves of invasion, Dunhuang has previously been independent, as well as being ruled by both Tibet and China.

Dunhuang was made a prefecture in 117 BC by Emperor Han Wudi[?], and was a major point of interchange between China and the outside world during the Han and Tang dynasties.

Other neighboring attractions include:

• Crescent Lake
• Echoing-Sand Mountain (Mingsha Shan)

External links

• Crescent Lake (http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/gansu/dunhuang/moon_lake.htm)
• Echoing-Sand Mountain (http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/gansu/dunhuang/sand.htm)
• International Dunhuang Project (http://idp.bl.uk/) (includes digitised Buddhist texts)