Dunhuang

We are now in Beijing, having spent two  nights in Dunhuang.  Dunhuang's claim to fame, apart from its sand dunes and importance to the Silk Road, is the nearby magnificently decorated Buddhist caves.  But some pics.

Our hotel room in DH.

Sand  dunes around DH.

Magao Caves is the largest and most well known  complex.  Getting to the caves is an expedition in itself.  The ticket office is miles away and then you take a shuttle bus and walk.  You can see there are lots of people wanting to see them.  The caves have entrances stabilised and paved.  There are hundreds of caves - each day only some of them are open.  We saw 8.  No pics in the Caves, not even surreptitious ones.

This is the cave containing a huge Buddha.  There is always a Big Buddha somewhere.

In the afternoon, we went to the much less crowded Western Caves.  The Caves are smaller and less spectacular, but it was a much more relaxed and peaceful process. This is the lead-up to the caves.

And this is the built-up entrances to the caves.

Cave country.