Stunning Dunhuang frescoes, source of inspiration for artists

Photo shows artists paiting the Dunhuang frescoes. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

TV documentary "Dunhuang School" premiered in Lanzhou on Jan 17, 2016. A large number of precious photos were displayed in the documentary.

Dunhuang fresco is the composing part of Dunhuang Mogao Caves grotto art. The Mogao Caves, also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, is a system of 492 temples 25 kilometers southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis strategically located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu province, northwestern China. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years.

Dunhuang frescoes have abundant contents, varied forms and vivid time characteristics. They show that the craftsmen at that time had advanced painting skills and abundant imagination power. They provide a large amount of objective materials for researches on the Chinese art history.