Next Stop: Dunhuang

This famous city has over 1,000 caves that the Buddhist Monks inhabited nearly 1700 years ago. Inside some 300 caves are Buddhist Statues and other paintings and murals. This entry inside the door has a five-story Buddha in it. This incredible sight could not be photographed. The Chinese are recently learning how to preserve these artifacts and will not allow photos. There was a Buddhist Monk chanting outside of the Mogao grotto, known as the 1,000 caves. We were at the edge of the Gobi desert, where we rode camels out to an Oasis. The Camel ride was very gentle. Going up and coming down is an adventure! The largest sand dune is called Sound Sand Mountain and at the base is a small lake called Crescent Lake--in the shape of a crescent moon. You can tube or sled down the sand dunes as if it were snow. They were using the same tubes that we use at Magic Mountain.