A Chinese Odyssey: Ancient Silk Route town of Dunhuang

With the twin delights of the Mogao Caves and the Mingsha Mountain in the Gobi Desert, Dunhuang is China's hidden jewel.

Having seen photos of the natural beauty of the Gansu province a day earlier, we were all excited about the view that awaited us on the flight from Lanzhou to Dunhuang. The plane flew right over the Hexi Corridor, a narrow strip of fertile land that is sandwiched between the Mongolian and Tibetan plateaus.

As we moved towards Dunhuang, the barren brown hills surrounding Lanzhou gave way to the snow-covered Qilian Mountains. What a breathtaking sight these mountains are. Gansu, may be landlocked, but is truly blessed with some of the most stunning nature on the planet.

When we began our descent towards Dunhuang, we were asked to pull down our window shades as we were crossing some sensitive installations. The intrigue and mystery of this historic town only grew once we landed. As I got outside the terminal and on to the bus, I felt like I was in Mongolia. The poplars on the way to our hotel were shining in all their golden splendour and were in perfect harmony with the azure blue Central Asian sky. We were truly in the heart of our magnificent continent.

At one time the Great Wall of China extended all the way to this town, which was a major hub of trade and cultural exchange between China, India, Persia and Europe. A true crossroads of some of the world’s greatest civilisations, the artwork in the grottoes reflects these influences, particularly that of India.

Once we settled down in the hotel, we had a sumptuous Dunhuang-style lunch and went to an information centre to watch a film about the history of the town and the ancient Silk Road. Dunhuang is proud of its millennium-old links with India and this was on display in the film. The special effects at the screening hall help one understand the minute detail that went into the painting and carving of the caves that began in the fourth century CE and spanned almost a thousand years.

In the auditorium, we spotted 13-year olds from a nearby school. They looked curious to begin a conversation with us but restrained themselves to smiles and nods. When we arrived at the caves, they couldn’t hold in their curiosity anymore. One child asked ‘C’ who stands at 185 centimetres “how tall are you.” That broke the ice! The children, eager to practice their English went ballistic with joy! Then came excited conversations, handful shakes, high-fives and photos.

We were extremely fortunate to get a walking lecture about the caves, including some that were closed to the general public, from Lu Shuaiyang, an erudite scholar and one of the best experts at the Dunhuang Academy. As a history-lover I have attended countless lectures but the feeling of walking around these caves and getting educated about their history from a man of such deep understanding was one of my most treasured travel experiences of all time. Mr. Lu, incidentally, took the Indian Ambassador in China on such a walk earlier this year.

In the gorgeous late-afternoon light, my mind drifted and I imagined those brave traders, travellers and monks who once lived in this town and made it a major hub of culture, learning and philosophical discourse.

The poplars were flaming as were a few autumn trees with their red foliage. The paintings in the grottoes that we saw were well maintained and enough efforts were made to ensure this priceless exhibit of the highest level of human intellectual and artistic prowess was in the best of hands.

Later that evening we witnessed a music and dance spectacle showcasing the evolution of performing arts in Dunhuang. It began with walk-through performances and ended with a spectacular audio-visual live treat in the auditorium. There was even a Hindustani music and dance sequence. The artists represented the diversity of both the Ancient Silk Road and that of contemporary China.

A good night’s sleep was needed to process the sheer number of impressions on this delightful day!

The next morning I was up at least an hour before sunrise and there was no way that I was wasting this weather and not going for a run. On that cold morning, I managed to take in the late-autumn freshness and see a bit of Dunhuang before heading back to the hotel, where a rooftop restaurant had some stunning views of our oasis and the mountains lining the Gobi Desert.

Our first stop after breakfast was the Crescent Lake, a small body of water that is surrounded by the lofty sand-mountains that surround it. There is also a beautiful temple by the lake. If I was overwhelmed by the emotions that overcame the previous day at Mogao, this experience of being right by the Gobi Desert was something that I just was not prepared for. This vast desert which has an area of almost 1.3 million square kilometres stretches on from China into Mongolia. Seeing this great desert and its vastness can be a humbling experience, reminding one of his or her own insignificance in the greater scheme of life on earth that has preceded and will surpass us.

Unknown to me earlier that morning was that we would be given the opportunity to climb the Ming Sha mountain. Although my legs were sore from the morning run, I was not going to waste this opportunity. Given the fact that the sun was pretty strong at that time the climb up was on the tougher side, but the hike was rewarding. One of the most interesting phenomena on the hike is the singing sound you hear when the wind blows.

I was out of breath by the time I got to the top but the views of the desert and the Crescent Spring below were more than worth the climb.

The nice and sumptuous lunch at our hotel was well earned!

We spent a good part of the afternoon at the Dunhuang Super Mirror Power Plant, a facility that was built to generate 390 million kWh of power every year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 350,000 metric tons annually. Given how so many parts of India are blessed with abundant sunlight, surely we should have such facilities in the country?

It was nice to see a place like Dunhuang representing the past, present and the future of China!

Later in the afternoon, we had a symposium with the Dunhuang Municipal Council, led from the Chinese side by Yu Jingmei, the absolutely brilliant Vice Director of the Dunhuang Foreign Affairs Office. We thanked our hosts for their unparalleled hospitality and also discussed ways to improve people-to-people contact and cultural exchanges between India and China. How wonderful would it be for us to see our friends from Dunhuang in Bombay, to take them to Elephanta, Kanehri, Mahakali and the Karla and Bajra caves?

A banquet followed the symposium, where Zhu Yuming, the Director of Gansu Provincial Foreign Affairs Office and the Deputy Secretary of CPC Dunhuang Municipal Committee toasted not only to friendship between China and India, but to a future where we once looked at our great civilisations as siblings! Mr Zhu has been to India and loves the country. He is keen to build on the sister-city agreement that Dunhuang shares with Aurangabad.

Our last point of visit in the town was the night market, a wonderful place to shop. I managed to get a few good bargains thanks to our friend Manlin who spoke to the happy and friendly vendors in Chinese.

As we began to wind up at the market and head back to the bus, I noticed an artist who was selling Buddhist sketches. They were in large frames and I couldn’t dream of taking them home, but I did want to photograph the man. At this point, our Chinese speaking friends were in some other part of the market but I somehow managed to explain that I wanted to be in a photo with him. The serious expression on his face changed to one of absolute joy! His happiness and broad smile were reflective of the kindness and warmth that we were received with in Dunhuang and all of Gansu.

The next day we would fly to Beijing, but Dunhuang would stay with us, wherever we went!