Tourism and development threaten ancient painted caves in western China
Pursuit of profit and hordes of visitors pose growing problem to fragile Buddhist wall paintings and sculptures in Mogao on the edge of the Gobi Desert
At the heart of the ancient Silk Road, on the edge of the Gobi Desert, lies a centuries-old place of pilgrimage: hundreds of caves hewn from a sandstone cliff, containing some of the most exquisite Buddhist frescoes and figures in the world.
Abandoned for centuries, the Mogao Grottoes somehow survived everything that nature and man could throw at them, including earthquakes, floods and sandstorms. Marauding Muslim rebels, plundering European explorers and White Russian soldiers all left their mark. Rampaging Red Guards were turned away at the height of China’s Cultural Revolution.
Today, the caves outside Dunhuang in western China enjoy a new stature, at the heart of China’s efforts to revitalise and rebuild the Silk Road as a testament to its growing power in Asia. They also stand as a symbol of Sino-American cooperation in China’s cultural preservation, thanks to pioneering work by the Getty Conservation Institute.
But the fragile wall paintings, some of which date to the 4th century and show stories from the Buddha’s life and visions of the afterlife, face another threat – from a new army of tourists and the lure of profit.