This morning, we visited an attraction within Dun Huang city call "Echoing Sand Mountains, Crescent Lake". It is a somewhat interesting geological formation. According to our tour guide, the crescent shaped lake is formed due to the unique mountain formation in the area. The sand storm created a circuit pattern, just sparing the stream to form a sparking lake. The lake gets its water from melting snow atop Qi Lian mountain. Unfortunately, in recent years, due to global warming, there is less melting snow and parts of the lake appear dried.
The excursion became an excuse to play in the sand! We were encourage to slide down a rather steep sand dune. Supposedly, the echoing sand will make a loud noise. After consulting with our tour guide, he frankly tell us it is unlikely we will hear the sand. Bummer...
We also got the chance to ride a camel. The animal is fairly tame, so they walk slowly on the sand. It is still a fairly bumpy ride. I gain much more respect for ancient travellers who had relied on these animals to ferry them across the vast desert that is the silk route.
When we are in Gobi desert, the desert scenery is quite similar to the desert of Arizona. It is here at Crescent lake that we see scenery similar to those of the Sahara. While this is not a historic site, I did think it is a worthwhile stop.
In the afternoon, we went to what I consider the other most important attraction of the trip: the murals of Dun Huang at Mao Gao Caves. Our first cave is home of the North Buddha, where a large piece of rock is carved into a big Buddha from the early Tang dynasty. The entire statue is more than a few person high and is aw inspiring. The walls of the cave is covered with paintings of various scene of Buddha spreading his gospel and the surrounding disciples. All were vividly painted and the colors have survived through the ages extremely well
The second cave is home to the South Buddha. Here the craftsman has already master perspective and design carve the Buddha so that it appears even bigger than the North Buddha, which being actually shorter. The third cave is home to the sleeping Buddha. Here the Buddha is in his sleep soon before his death. His disciples are shown standing behind him, some frowning, some happy. Some of the disciples are depicted as statues and others as paintings. On the opposite wall is painting of 5000 little Buddhas. Each has its own facial expression and distinct features.
We also went to several caves from early dynasty where it was obvious the art is clearly Indian art and showing early signs of influence from Chinese art. Another highlight is the cave where the Buddhist elders had hidden their sutra from invaders. The sutra was later discovered and subsequently sold to museums from around the world.
One painting that I had especially wanted to see was the "Reverse playing of the Lute"(反弹琵琶）. Our guide told us that particular cave is too small to accommodate tourist. Sigh...
All in all though, it was a treat to see these priceless treasure. I don't usually buy souvenirs, but since we are not allow to take photos inside the caves, I broke down and bought a set of post cards of Fei Tian(飞天).
The excursion became an excuse to play in the sand! We were encourage to slide down a rather steep sand dune. Supposedly, the echoing sand will make a loud noise. After consulting with our tour guide, he frankly tell us it is unlikely we will hear the sand. Bummer...
We also got the chance to ride a camel. The animal is fairly tame, so they walk slowly on the sand. It is still a fairly bumpy ride. I gain much more respect for ancient travellers who had relied on these animals to ferry them across the vast desert that is the silk route.When we are in Gobi desert, the desert scenery is quite similar to the desert of Arizona. It is here at Crescent lake that we see scenery similar to those of the Sahara. While this is not a historic site, I did think it is a worthwhile stop.
In the afternoon, we went to what I consider the other most important attraction of the trip: the murals of Dun Huang at Mao Gao Caves. Our first cave is home of the North Buddha, where a large piece of rock is carved into a big Buddha from the early Tang dynasty. The entire statue is more than a few person high and is aw inspiring. The walls of the cave is covered with paintings of various scene of Buddha spreading his gospel and the surrounding disciples. All were vividly painted and the colors have survived through the ages extremely wellThe second cave is home to the South Buddha. Here the craftsman has already master perspective and design carve the Buddha so that it appears even bigger than the North Buddha, which being actually shorter. The third cave is home to the sleeping Buddha. Here the Buddha is in his sleep soon before his death. His disciples are shown standing behind him, some frowning, some happy. Some of the disciples are depicted as statues and others as paintings. On the opposite wall is painting of 5000 little Buddhas. Each has its own facial expression and distinct features.
We also went to several caves from early dynasty where it was obvious the art is clearly Indian art and showing early signs of influence from Chinese art. Another highlight is the cave where the Buddhist elders had hidden their sutra from invaders. The sutra was later discovered and subsequently sold to museums from around the world.
One painting that I had especially wanted to see was the "Reverse playing of the Lute"(反弹琵琶）. Our guide told us that particular cave is too small to accommodate tourist. Sigh...
All in all though, it was a treat to see these priceless treasure. I don't usually buy souvenirs, but since we are not allow to take photos inside the caves, I broke down and bought a set of post cards of Fei Tian(飞天).
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