If there's one place you should take your kids, Dunhuang is it.

Located on the Silk Road, Dunhuang has a unique flavor of the Central Plains, but also has a unique Western characteristics. There are no birds or animals in the desert, but there is a collection of Mogao Grottoes with wall paintings from the Northern Liang to Yuan Dynasty.

The Mogao Grottoes, built in 366 AD, are the oldest of China's grottoes, with the largest number of caves and the highest level of artistic attainment, combining architecture, colorful sculptures, and paintings, and are known as the "Grottoes of Grottoes".

In the north-south 1.7 kilometers long broken wall, more than 700 grottoes such as honeycomb scattered among them. Among them, 492 grottoes are covered with brightly colored murals, *** more than 40,000 square meters. If all of them were laid on the ground, it would exceed the footprint of the 20-seat Palace of Imperial China's Hall of Supreme Harmony.

(Photo by Jinliang Photography, Dunhuang Research Institute)

The murals recount the story of Sakyamuni's past lives, the landscape of the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and the history of Buddhism's eastward journey. In Cave 321, the bodhisattva is sitting cross-legged with a smile on his face, his expression is warm and kind, and the color of the vermilion is as new. In Cave 427, on the four walls of the upper circle of the heavenly palace railing, the flying skies, one after the other, are flying rapidly in the blue sky and streaming clouds, playing music and scattering flowers. This symbolizes the highest technology of ancient Chinese painting, but also the soul of the Mogao Grottoes.

More interestingly, the murals also depict people traveling on the Silk Road and other scenes. The Silk Road is not only a long geographical span, but also a civilization exchange and break through the geographical limitations of the road of exploration. At different times, people wore different costumes, embedded in the gold brim, flowing silk sleeves, shiny and light, very realistic.

It can be said that if you want to explore the greatest artistic treasures of antiquity, and understand the history of the Silk Road, visiting the Mogao Grottoes is the most direct way.

If a person can go to Dunhuang as a child and see for himself this miracle in the middle of the desert, then I think he will have a deeper understanding and love of civilization and history.

However, under the erosion of time, most of the mural paintings still have beautiful lines and vivid characters, but the colors are gradually fading. The patterns of many murals have become blurred, broken, and some have even begun to fall off.

"The ultimate end of the Mogao Grottoes is constant destruction, the flying sky with a lute in its arms and the colorful world of Buddha will disappear sooner or later." Fan Jinshi, honorary president of the Dunhuang Research Institute, has said something similar many times.

Now, thanks to the efforts of Dunhuang's guardians, many of the grottoes have been restored, and some have been digitized. We hope to visit the Mogao Grottoes with you, to experience the charm of this miracle, to understand the difficulty of protecting the murals, and to be in awe of the artifacts and the culture behind them.

This summer, Dunhuang Parent-Child Art Study Camp, organized by Southern Weekend, KUBE Art Space, and Dunhuang Research Institute, is now open for registration.

KUBE Art Space - the first organization in South China to create a museum program for children and youth, integrating education between schools and museums, advocating moving the classroom into museums both at home and abroad, situational education, inquiry-based learning, and enhancing the children's multifaceted and interdisciplinary knowledge system.

Dunhuang Research Institute - a comprehensive research-oriented institution at the local hall level responsible for the management of the world cultural heritage Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Tianshui Maiji Mountain Grottoes, Yongjing Bingling Temple Grottoes, the national key cultural relics protection unit Guazhou Yulin Grottoes, Dunhuang West Thousand Buddha Caves, Qingyang North Grottoes and Temples.

Click on the poster to begin registration

Trip Option One: July 16 - July 21, 2019

Trip Option Two: August 11 - August 16, 2019

In our opinion, getting to know Dunhuang is more than just flying in to get a glimpse of the caves. Rather, it's about delving into the local human geography, getting to know the surroundings of the Mogao Caves, interacting with the low-profile but stalwart guardians of the caves, and even getting personally involved in the creation and restoration and preservation of the murals, in order to get a real sense of what the place has to offer.

(Take July 16th - July 21st as an example, the itinerary is shown above, this itinerary may be adjusted, subject to the final itinerary)

Detailed itinerary

Day 1

Traveling through time and space in the Mogao Grottoes. Explore Buddhist art

In the morning, experts from Dunhuang Research Institute will share "Dunhuang on the Silk Road", starting from Zhangqian's journey to the border, talking about the history and culture of Mogao Grottoes and the Silk Road. And enjoy the movie to appreciate the "Millennium Mogao" and "Dream Buddha Palace", 8K digital, spherical screen, 3D movies, drilling into the digital world of the Mogao Grottoes at a glance the greatness of the art of grottoes.

Subsequently, experts who have been engaged in copying the murals of Mogao Caves for many years will teach in person , learning to paint murals in the ground battle layer, seeing and touching the real carrier of Dunhuang's thousand-year-old murals, and experiencing the joys and hardships of the ancient artists' paintings in the mud wall.

In the afternoon, under the leadership of Dunhuang Academy experts, enter the mural restoration site in the non-public tour area, observe the mural restoration, learn what diseases exist in the mural paintings, what problems will occur, visit the digitization project site, and professional restorers close contact.

Avoid the crowds in the evening, visit the Mogao Caves in depth, and learn the story behind each Buddha statue and each mural under the explanation of experts.

Day 2

Walk the Yangguan Avenue and see the Han and Tang Dynasty's triumphs

As early as 121 BC, the Western Han Dynasty, in order to resist the harassment of the Xiongnu on the frontier and to operate in the Western Region, set up four counties, namely, Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang, in the Western Corridor, and established Yangguan Pass and Yumenguan Pass at the same time. From then on, Yangguan as the gateway to the western region, but also the "Silk Road" South Road must pass through the pass, its strategic position is extremely important.

In the morning, we will visit the Yumen Pass, Yang Pass, and the Great Wall of Han Dynasty to experience the vicissitudes of history and civilization in reality.

In the afternoon, we will head to Dunhuang Yardang Landform. Yardang is a typical wind erosion landform in dry areas. Dunhuang Yardang City is located on the border of Gansu and Xinjiang, more than 80 kilometers northwest of Yumen Pass, which is also part of the ancient Lop Nor. Here the layout of the orderly, peculiar shape, is a rare natural sculpture museum, can be called Dunhuang another spectacle.

Here we will learn about various climates and geography and enjoy the sunset. A Border Poetry Recital will be held after nightfall to experience first-hand the state of mind in which the ancients created their works.

Day3 Visiting the Yulin Grottoes and retracing the path of Xuanzang

The Yulin Grottoes are a unique place, deep in the desert. There are murals from the Tang Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty over a period of 800 years, as well as scenes from Journey to the West.

A Dunhuang Cave expert will take us on a tour to unlock the Buddhist stories on the Silk Road and admire the exquisite Buddha and Bodhisattva paintings in the Yulin Caves.

In the afternoon, we will visit the ruins of Lockyang City and the ruins of Broken Frontier. Xuanzang passed through here on his private journey to the west. Here is still China's best-preserved ancient military defense system and ancient farmland irrigation system, a variety of plants and insects in large numbers, but have a protective color, not easy to detect, we will be here to retrace the road of Xuanzang, on a desert plug field nature science class.

Day4 Incarnation of the narrator, play around the Mingsha Mountain

Dunhuang Museum, with history as the guide line, tells us the development of Dunhuang from the Stone Age to the new era. From the establishment of the four counties of Hexi in the Han Dynasty as the starting point of prosperity, the peak of the Tang Dynasty, to the gradual desolation of the Ming Dynasty, to the present day efforts to move forward.

Under the guidance of experts, children will learn to observe and understand the artifacts and statues in the Dunhuang Museum, explore the traces of history in the artifacts, and open their minds to a whole new way of strolling through the museum, and take on the role of a little interpreter to share with their peers.

In the afternoon, we will go to the Mingsha Mountain and the Moon Spring. The Crescent Spring, known as the "desert wonderland", is located at the foot of the Mingsha Mountain, surrounded by sand dunes. Because of the terrain, when the wind is blowing, the sand does not go down the mountain, but flows up the mountain. Here, we will ride camels and sandboarding, experiencing the most desert-specific sports. You can also climb the Mingsha Mountain overlooking the Lunar Spring and enjoy the sunset from the top of the mountain.

After sunset, we will organize a bonfire party at Mingsha Mountain to share the harvest and unforgettable memories of this trip.

Price Original Price: 7999RMB Sign up before June 15 to enjoy the early bird price of 7888RMB 4-person group price of 7688RMB and enjoy listening to the Dreams of Dunhuang (theme tentative). Dunhuang" (theme tentative) online lecture special rights, lecture time to be announced. This is a boutique small group, starting at 12 people, 30 people full group, if you do not become a group, we will notify 15 days before the trip, and a full refund.