Mogao Caves | An Ancient Civilization from Northwest China

This was my first time visiting Northwest China! I loved the yellow of the sand and desert at Mogao Grottoes, and the gradient from gray to yellow in the Yardang landforms. The murals, weathered by a thousand years, possessed a mottled texture. My favorites were the line drawing style murals in Cave 3 of Mogao Grottoes and Cave 3 of Yulin Grottoes—emphasizing lines and light colors, the skirts truly seem to float in the paintings. This broke away from my previous perception of murals as having high-saturation color blocks and the heaviness of Buddhist forms. The patterned bricks covered in snow. I ate incredibly delicious lamb. On my last day, I encountered snow in Dunhuang. The entire Northwest Gobi Desert was bathed in a soft pinkish-yellow filter. I loved the closing line of "Encounter Dunhuang Again"—"Dedicated to the ancient Silk Road and the brilliant human civilization." Meaningful because of recording.