I thank the saints that preserve nation's 'pantheon'

I thank the saints that preserve nation's 'pantheon'

In the center of Rome stands the Pantheon - a temple dedicated to all gods. A mere 6, 611 kilometers away, China has its own " pantheon" - the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, Northwest China's Gansu province.

Mogao is a complex of caves chiseled out of the side of a sandstone and sedimentary rock cliff that stretches almost 2 km beside a dry riverbed in the Gobi Desert.

Another name for the site is the Thousand-Buddha Caves. This is apt because in the caves are a vast wealth of Buddhist artworks, murals, statues, meditation chambers, burial sites and living quarters dating back as far as the Eastern Jin Dynasty(317-420).

The city of Dunhuang has, for centuries, been a key outpost on the ancient Silk Road, providing shelter and respite for weary traders along the route east to west or vice versa. And it is because of its location that the Mogao Caves can also be called a pantheon. It is not just Buddhist art that adorns its walls.

There are Taoist artworks, traditional Chinese mythological characters depicted, as well as influences from Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe.