Gansu, a land often regarded by many as desolate, stirs a profound resonance deep within the soul the moment you set foot upon its boundless expanse and tranquil vastness. The once-bustling traffic of ancient times has long faded into the dust of history, leaving behind a flourishing cultural heritage that has nurtured this land for millennia.
This journey to Gansu, meticulously organized by the Dunhuang Academy and the school’ s Chinese department, brought together 57 teachers and students. Starting in Lanzhou and traveling westward along the Silk Road, we traced the footsteps of those who came before us, exploring the threads of a thousand-year-old civilization and embarking on an unforgettable cultural adventure.
Day 1 Gansu Provincial Museum
At 11 a.m., our plane touched down in Lanzhou. For our first group meal, we savored a local specialty: boiled mutton in clear broth. Following this, we embarked on the first stop of our westward journey—the Gansu Provincial Museum.
Here, we marveled at the renowned “Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow.” The bronze horse, poised with its front hooves raised and a rear hoof lightly touching the swallow, radiates a sense of agility as if riding the wind. It seemed to gallop through the echoes of history, leaping across the ancient Silk Road where camel bells once sang, vividly bringing the vast landscapes of a thousand years ago to life before our eyes.
Beyond the Eastern Han bronze horse, we also admired treasures such as the human-head-shaped pottery jar with painted designs from the Yangshao culture and the lotus-shaped glass cup from the Yuan dynasty. These artifacts reflect the ingenuity of ancient craftsmen and their exceptional artistry, rivaling even the aesthetic standards of modern times.
Day 2 Danxia Landform
At dawn, we resumed our journey, boarding a train bound for Zhangye along the Qilian Mountains. As the train glided out of the station under the rising sun, it promised us an extraordinary visual feast.
The train entered a canyon—a pristine white world. The towering mountains shed their ruggedness, revealing a tender serenity. Gradually, they bowed into the distance, fading into ink-like strokes on the horizon. Each train window framed a masterpiece of nature: herds of cattle and sheep grazing or strolling aimlessly under the sun, and scattered burial mounds, peacefully resting beneath the snow, exuding a sense of calm and timeless grace.
Upon arriving in Zhangye, we drove to Danxia Landform. The mountains here exhibit different colors due to the varying mineral compositions they contain. Draped in a delicate veil of snow, the mountains presented a stunning interplay of red and white, warmth and cold, creating a surreal winter spectacle. Sunlight danced on the snowy surfaces, reflecting a brilliance akin to silk inlaid with diamonds—luxurious yet ethereal, evoking awe at nature’s artistry.
Day 3 Great Buddha Temple & Jiayu Pass
The Great Buddha Temple, built during the Western Xia dynasty, is renowned for its massive reclining Buddha. Following the guide, we explored its architecture, murals, and sculptures, feeling the calmness distilled through centuries. Unassuming yet serene, the temple rests like a whisper from a dream, softly echoing Buddhist chants. Inside, the reclining Buddha lies in quiet repose, its tranquil expression embodying a thousand years of history.
At Jiayu Pass, snowflakes began to fall. The gates stood wide open, with no soldiers defending the walls or the smoke of war rising. Yet, the Great Wall stretched clearly across the desolate Gobi Desert. The pass’s intricate military defense system was a marvel of engineering, earning its title as “the most impregnable pass under heaven.”
Day 4 Yulin Grottoes
Part of the Dunhuang grotto art system, the Yulin Grottoes may lack the grandeur, antiquity, or fame of the Mogao Caves, but they shine as another brilliant chapter in China ’ s millennia-old artistic heritage. Despite their smaller scale, the Yulin Grottoes hold equal artistic value: their murals, dating from the Tang to the Western Xia dynasties, are better preserved and more numerous, filling gaps left by the Mogao Caves.
The must-see highlight is the Avalokitesvara mural in Special Cave 2, painted during the Western Xia period. The bodhisattva sits at ease by a serene stream, one leg bent, the other folded, delicately holding prayer beads. Behind are verdant stones and bamboo, while the figure’ s compassionate gaze gently lowers, as if listening to the world’ s suffering. Above, a crescent moon hangs amid drifting clouds, evoking the Buddhist concept of emptiness and wisdom (Prajñā).
The vivid colors and detailed lines of these thousand-year-old murals stand in stark contrast to the limitations of modern art. Nestled quietly on canyon walls flanking the Qilian Mountains, the Yulin Grottoes let snowmelt flow past their base, having endured for centuries. It is this quiet isolation that has spared them from many historical devastations.
Day 5 Yangguan
Yangguan, a beacon rooted deep in history, has been immortalized by poets for millennia. Yet, the so-called “Yangguan ruins” no longer hold visible relics. One can only gesture vaguely toward a spot on the Gobi Desert and recount tales of its once-glorious battles and fluttering banners.
A crumbling beacon tower stands atop a hill, overlooking snow-covered plains that seem stained by the blood of long-lost wars. We descended the slope along the plank path, walking the ancient Yangguan Road. As the crowd faded, time stretched infinitely, and the vast Gobi Desert enveloped us in its timeless, silent breath.
The cold wind, perhaps unchanged over a thousand years, swept over our footprints, layering them atop those of poets, officials, monks, merchants, and soldiers. Yangguan is poetic yet resolute. It is hard to imagine the once-bustling pass, alive with the clamor of horses, the mingling of cultures, and even the anguish of war. Yet, amidst all this, Wang Wei’s poignant words remain: “I urge you to drink another cup of wine, for beyond Yangguan, friends will part.”
Today, Yangguan is elusive, existing only in the imagination. Its presence is felt through stories of the past, its figure rising boldly on history’s stage before slipping silently away, leaving nothing but inked lines on ancient records. The Yangguan Road of history stretches infinitely westward, and beyond it lies Xinjiang.
Day 6 Mogao Caves
“To see Mogao is not to witness relics that died a thousand years ago, but to encounter life that has lived for a thousand years.”
—Yu Qiuyu
For decades, this 2-kilometer stretch of land has borne the praises of countless literati. Even those who have never set foot in Gansu must have heard of the renowned Mogao Caves. During our three-hour visit, we explored special caves like 329, 16, 17 (Library Cave), 96, and 259, as well as ordinary ones like 323, 331, and 158.
Mogao Caves, often called “half of China’s art history,” encapsulate traces of nearly every feudal dynasty from the Northern Wei to the Yuan. Since Zhang Qian’s Han-era expeditions opened the Silk Road, Buddhism journeyed from India through Xinjiang and Dunhuang to the Central Plains. The success of this cross-cultural transmission lay largely in its ability to adapt to local aesthetics. While early sculptures and murals bore exotic influences, works from the Sui and Tang dynasties gradually assimilated into the Chinese artistic tradition, each era leaving its distinct imprint.
During the Sui, art was bold and unrestrained, blending grandeur with elegance. Tang murals dazzled with their vibrant colors, reflecting a world of music, dance, and prosperity. Statues of bodhisattvas beside Buddha figures were plump, serene, and adorned with slight belly curves — secular beauty infused into sacred art, embodying the Tang Dynasty ’ s confidence and vitality. Flying apsaras danced across ceilings and canopies, their grace immortalized in famous scenes like the Rebounding Pipa and Pure Lands of the Four Directions.
By the Song, however, creativity waned. Murals became repetitive and dull, dominated by endless patterns of small Buddhas—an artistic stagnation shaped by political constraints. Under Yuan rule, the rise of Tibetan Buddhism brought a more austere style, stripped of vibrant colors, favoring simplicity and introspection. With the Ming and Qing, this artistic tradition gradually faded into obscurity.
Mogao Caves stand as a divine presence in the realm of cultural heritage. Each brushstroke embodies the essence of Eastern aesthetics; each hue shapes an era ’ s artistic tide. Every vivid figure reflects the enduring confidence and depth of a civilization—passionate yet solemn, majestic yet graceful.
Religion, as a refuge for the weary, sustains the human spirit. Mogao, with its humble caves and simple purpose, nourished generations of believers. The cliffs, pierced with countless grottoes, gaze at each other in timeless silence— a strange serenity amidst their scars. Within these caves, the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, myths, and celestial beings seem both profound and elusive. Perhaps they are silent because they are familiar.
Great sounds are inaudible, and great forms are formless. Yet the echoes of bells and chants linger through millennia, quietly observing the vicissitudes of the human world.
Day 7 Singing Sand Dunes and Crescent Lake
Five kilometers south of Dunhuang lies Crescent Lake, like an eternal tear of a divine maiden, shimmering in the vast sea of sand. Defying nature’s paradox of “a spring in the desert,” it stands as a quiet miracle. Shaped like a crescent moon, it stirs the imagination of every traveler. Yet in winter, its frozen surface cannot ripple with the charm it holds in warmer seasons. The cold wind sweeps across the undulating dunes of the Singing Sand Dunes, carving wave-like patterns into the golden sands. Here, desert and spring coexist in serene contradiction.
As the bitter cold of night approached, we left before sunset. In summer, Crescent Lake would surely gaze upon the crescent moon in the evening sky, glowing softly under the quiet brilliance of the stars.
The journey must end, but its sights and impressions linger for a lifetime. Looking back at the vast Northwest, the swift silhouette of a bronze horse races across the snow-covered Qilian Mountains. The slumbering Buddha in temple halls watches over graves beneath ancient watchtowers. Ethereal flying apsaras, dancing for a thousand years, seem ready to soar on the wind. The bygone eras of dynasties and the human stories etched into the memory of this land ride forward through the dust of history, one after another…
- Article / Michelle Chen
- Pictures /May Ou, Margaret Deng, Emily Lei
