The sand dunes and crescent moon lake.
Camel train with Mingsha Mountain (also known as Echoing Sand Mountain) sand dunes behind.
Engraved stone floor tiles depicting the sand dunes, flora, lake and animals.
A small Camel train.
Bactrian Camels.
Just 3 of many Camels.
Wild desert flora growing.
Wild desert flora growing.
Will and Jane. The only option to get to the top of the Mingsha Mountain sand dunes is to walk. This wooden ladder in the sand aiding their ascent.
Crescent Moon Lake – named for it’s distinctive shape obviously. The lake and a 2,000-year old oasis are surrounded by the sand dunes of Mingsha Mountain in the Gobi Desert.
View of the complex from the sand dunes. The Crescent Moon Lake can never be covered by moving sand. The mountains on the southern and northern sides of the Crescent Lake are much higher than then mountains on the eastern and western sides. The winds blows from west to east or from east to west will carry the falling sands up to the back sides of mountains. So the sands can never move to the lake.
Jane and I on the slopes of the sand dunes.
Jane at the top of the sand dunes.
Whilst I hate my footwear there is one consolation though, with the velcro strapping they will stay firmly attached to my feet in the fine sand.
Will and I at the top of the sand dunes.
Jane and I at the top of the sand dunes.
Jane and I posing for a photo whilst taking in the surrounding landscape from the top of the sand dunes.
Big push for Will on a wooden tray from a man who has the perfect solution for stopping the sand getting between his toes.
And there goes Will, sandboarding, taking the quickest way down the sand dunes.
The Mogao Caves.
Entrance to the Mogao Caves museum – no photos allowed inside.
Introduction to the Mogao Caves complex.
There used to be a river but it was diverted to protect the paintings in the caves from moisture.
The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes, are the best known of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes.
Wall painting on one of the cave sanctuaries.
A Buddha Temple.
Complex of cells and cave sanctuaries.
The facade of a Buddha Temple.
Buddha Temple with decorative stone dragon roof ridges.
The Buddha Temples are easily recognisable from the rest of the Mogao Caves complex because of having an elaborate facade.
Buddha Temple.
Buddha Temple.
Figure of Maitreya Buddha in cave 275 from Northern Liang (397-439), one of the earliest caves. The crossed ankle figure with a three-disk crown shows influence from Kushan art.
Buddha statue.
The Thousand-Hand-and-Thousand-Eye Guanyin in Mogao Caves.
This exhibit shows the build stages in creating a Buddha statue.
