What survives along the routes
Most Buddhist monuments on the old overland routes have not survived. Wooden halls, banners and manuscripts decay, and stupas and monasteries were often reused or abandoned. Caves, being cut into stable rock and sometimes protected by dry desert air, did better. That is why a tour of documented sites is largely a tour of caves, along with some ruined towns and stupas.
The sites below are well documented in scholarship, but dates are usually approximate, and some caves have been damaged, repainted, looted or removed by earlier visitors. Treat dates as ranges rather than certainties.
Kizil, near Kucha
Kucha was an important oasis kingdom on the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, in what is now Xinjiang, China. Near it, the Kizil Caves form one of the earliest large groups of Buddhist cave temples in China. Painting at Kizil is usually dated from about the third to the eighth centuries, in several phases. Many ceilings show stories from the Buddha’s earlier lives and episodes from his life, arranged in repeating panels, along with figures that reflect Indian, Iranian and Central Asian styles. Stories of this kind belong to the tradition of Jataka tales.
Kucha is also linked by tradition with the translator Kumarajiva, who is said to have been born there in the fourth century and later worked in China. Many murals at Kizil are now in museums outside China, particularly in Germany, after early twentieth-century expeditions. That history is still discussed by scholars and museums.
Dunhuang and the Mogao caves
Dunhuang, in Gansu, was a gateway where routes entered China. The Mogao caves nearby were, according to tradition, begun in the fourth century CE and added to over about a thousand years. They contain hundreds of painted and sculpted chambers. The murals show Buddhas, bodhisattvas, paradise scenes, donors and scenes from daily life, and the sculpture and painting show different periods and patrons.
In the early twentieth century a sealed cave was found to contain a very large cache of manuscripts and paintings, in Chinese, Tibetan and several other languages. These documents are a major source for the history of the region, not only of religion. The cache was dispersed among several countries and the circumstances remain debated.
Further sites in Xinjiang and Gansu
Several other places are often grouped with these:
- Bezeklik, near Turfan, a cave complex whose murals were heavily damaged and partly removed.
- Tuyoq and other sites in the Turfan area.
- Maijishan in Gansu, known for sculpture set high on a rock face.
- Yungang, near Datong in Shanxi, a large complex of carved colossal figures generally dated to the later fifth century CE.
- The Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang, a later and larger group of carved caves that continued the tradition under imperial patronage.
Taken together, they show how the tradition of excavated sanctuary moved from India and Central Asia into Chinese contexts. The Indian background is explained in our piece on rock-cut caves, and the sculptural series at Longmen are covered separately.
Beyond the caves
Not every documented site is a cave. Ruined stupas and monasteries survive at places such as Khotan’s desert-edge sites and at Jiaohe near Turfan, and Bamiyan in Afghanistan was a monumental centre in its own right. Gandhara sites in northern Pakistan, including Taxila, form the western end of the story. The wider history is set out in our overview of Silk Road Buddhism.
What to check before travelling
Conditions differ greatly from place to place. Some points apply to most sites:
- Access rules vary. Some caves are open only by guided visit, and some are closed to the public for conservation. Check current official heritage sources.
- Travel to Xinjiang and some border regions may involve additional controls, checkpoints or advisories. Check current government travel advice for your country.
- The desert climate can be extreme, with very hot summers and cold winters, and sandstorms are possible. Take health advice for long journeys at altitude or in heat.
- Photography is restricted in many caves to protect paintings. Follow all signs and instructions.
- Visitor numbers may be limited and require advance reservation at the busiest sites.
None of this is travel advice, and conditions change, so rely on current official information.
Respect at living and former sacred places
Some of these places are now museums or protected heritage sites, others have active worship nearby. Dress modestly, keep quiet, do not touch paintings or sculpture, and ask before photographing people. Customs differ by country and community, so follow local guidance.