Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, China
The Mogao Grottoes are bracing for up to 1 million visitors this year. When they first opened to the public in 1979, they received 26,000 visitors. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)
Visitors stroll around the site of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, China. Doors and walkways were added in the 1960s to help preserve the artworks. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)
The Mogao Grottoes were carved by hand into the sandstone cliffs near Dunhuang, China, between the 4th and the 14th centuries. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)
The Getty Conservation Institute’s 25-year partnership with Dunhuang Academy is the institution’s longest-running project. (Neville Agnew / The J. Paul Getty Trust)
A detail of wall paintings at the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, China. (Neville Agnew / The J. Paul Getty Trust)
Inside a cave at the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, China. (Dunhuang Academy / The J. Paul Getty Trust)
A new $50-million visitor center at the Mogao Grottoes in China’s Gobi Desert presents two films to tourists. The center aims to give visitors a more immersive experience, while reducing the amount of time they spend in the actual caves. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)
The new Mogao Grottoes visitor center’s architecture mimics the surrounding landscape. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)
A sign informs visitors that they may not enter a cave because of excessive levels of carbon dioxide. On a typical visit, tourists can enter eight to 10 caves of the nearly 500 in the complex. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)
Once the caves were carved, some of them had elaborate facades added on the cliff face. This large cave, No. 96, houses a giant Buddha sculpture 35.5 meters (about 116 feet) high, the third largest in China. It was built 1,300 years ago during the Tang Dynasty. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)
Some of the caves, like No. 96, are massive while others like No. 456 are quite small. Each cave at the Mogao Grottoes is numbered. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)