Resuming the tourist trail in Dunhuang

I'm in Dunhuang, on the eastern edge of the Taklamakan desert. I got the bus here from Jiayuguan to avoid what is by all accounts a pretty shabby road. Those who have ridden it report variously a seal that looks like it hasn't seen any attention since the adventures of Marco Polo, gross amounts of dust and loose gravel thrown up by the passing trucks, and motorway expeditions - I for one have had my fill of motorways.

So to Dunhuang. An important stop on the Silk Road at the edge of the desert and popular with tourists - I have had my first conversation since leaving Lanzhou (I have some pity for those who are subjected to my banter starved stream of consciousness on such occasions...). Famed for caves...Buddhist caves...by the name of Mogao Grottoes.

There are in excess of 700 caves, all of which are manmade, carved out of the rock. About 500 of these have been painted, decorated and statued. In short they were incredible. Funded by rich people, presumably keen to ingratiate themselves by building a temple, they were all different, ranging from the small to the enormous (35m buddha, with a slightly unfortunate face reconstructed in the middle of the last century). Inside the caves was a veritable treasure chest of buddhist painting through the ages. The oldest cave I saw dated from about 1500 years ago, although there are some older ones that are closed to the public.

So next time you see a communist construction that looks fit to house nothing more than the desert's air conditioning system, be sure to take a closer look...