Dunhuang is located in Southwest China's Gansu Province. The ancient Silk Road passed through the area, after traversing the Gansu Corridor.  The ancient city of Duhuang is in fact a huge movie set resembling the Song Dynasty city of Dunhuang. The set served to create a movie called Dunhuang in 1987 through a cooperation between Chinese and Japanese filmmakers.

Located right in the middle of the Gobi Desert about 25km southwest of Dunhuang, the surrounding landscape grants the city with an impressive scenery. Various temples, pawnshops, warehouses, silk shops and bars scatter the streets. All of these things are used as props and backgrounds.

Old town of Dunhuang was the largest film and television film set in Western China. Besides the film "Dunhuang", more than 20 films and television programs were made here.

Dunhuang's greatest significance lies in its unique grottoes, located among a wilderness of yellow sands. Researchers say there are 735 grottoes in all, with the Mogao Grottoes providing a representative example. These caves were cut into a cliff 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang, part of Mingsha Mountain.

Over a period of approximately 1,000 years, beginning in AD 366, these stone caves were excavated in the area of Dunhuang, eventually forming a 1,680-metre-long south-north complex.

Dunhuang art reached its zenith during the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties. It adopted Chinese delineation and Western patch coloring, creating depictions of human expressions that were remarkably life-like and elegant.  Dancing images, such as those of flying deities, were especially brilliantly executed, captivating all who have seen them.

History of ravages
Unfortunately these beautiful images suffered great damage over the course of their long history, with some of them even removed and scattered around the world. The beginning of the 20th century was the climax of the most shameful period in the Chinese history.

In May 1900, the Eight-power Allied Forces intruded into Beijing, the capital of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Yet it was during this period of chaos that a Taoist priest called Wang Yuanlu accidentally stumbled upon the sacred Buddhist site of Dunhuang.  Wang had served in the army before converting to Taoism. Astounded by the site, Wang hired a man surnamed Yang to transcribe the writings found on the murals. 

In 1900, the torch in Yang's hand illuminated an extraordinary and historic discovery -- a small cave containing thousands of preserved ancient sutra scrolls, paintings and sculptures. At the time, Chinese officials took little interest in the Dunhuang treasures. In February 1906, Marc Aurel Stein, a Jewish employee of the British Government, came to China and -- learning of Wang's find -- rushed to Dunhuang. To his disappointment, he found Wang was personally difficult to deal with.

When Stein was finally allowed into the sutra cave, he was overcome with awe. He described the experience in his book "Travels in West Asia" in the following terms: "When I looked in through a small hole, my eyes opened wide in surprise." By the dim light of Wang's candle, ancient sutra scrolls could be seen heaped up in piles several meters high, over scores of square meters. During the next seven days, Stein rummaged among them. These ancient scrolls and beautiful frescoes, he said, far exceeded any discovery he had made before.

China tours inclusive of visiting Dunhuang