The hotel breakfast buffet had a lot of variety this morning. We actually were the first to arrive at breakfast because we had an 8:15 A.M. show time at the Mogao Grottos.
Unrestored Grottos
At the grottos we were given listening devices that gave English translations for the two movies about the history of the grottos that we were to watch. The first movie was an iMax film, and the second was a 360 degree 3D film.
Then we followed an English speaking guide for about an hour and a half through many of the grottos. The first grotto was started in the 6th century by a Buddhist monk. At one time there were 1,000 grottos, now there are 735. They were dug out of the cliff wall using hand tools such as hammer and chisel, and the largest took thirty years to complete. The walls are covered with paintings, many of which remain in excellent condition. They are essentially all shrines to Buddha.
The first grotto that we entered had a Reclining Buddha statue with 72 followers painted behind that were added later. Another grotto had the third largest ancient standing Buddha in the world at 35.5 meters high. I was very impressed with the paintings inside. Pictures weren’t allowed to be taken. This was among the first three sites in China to become a World Heritage Sight. We were told that the blue paint used in many of the paintings is actually lapis lazuli, and it was extremely expensive.
After we had gone into several of the grottos, we walked a short distance to a museum that had reproductions of some grottos that we had not seen. It was built by the Japanese.
After this, we drove a short distance to another Chinese restaurant for one of our better lunches. I especially liked the sweet and sour chicken and a dish that had delicious black mushrooms that are called umbrella mushrooms.
Umbrella Mushrooms
Anita and Kay
17515 steps, 7.46 miles