The theme of the day is the desert. We first visited the Mogao Caves (莫高窟) , where it was home to close to 500 caves, the earliest carved out over 1700 years ago and used as a place of worship and meditation for Buddhism followers. It was pretty amazing, as everything in there has not been restored and was in their ORIGINAL state. Spanning multiple dynasties and years of abuse from the elements, this place is really a marvel of the history. The paintings were tattered and torn, but some of the colours, particularly the teals, still shone so vividly and unlike anything you’d see in current artforms. No pictures were allowed, so you’d have to come here yourself!
We also saw this cool cave which depicted, nope not the Chinese zodiac…. but the 12 constellations! In a wall painting well over a thousand years old, apparently the concept of constellations, was at one point in time, known to Chinese people!?!? Cool! Continue reading
Join us as we set sail around South America 