Dunhuang, China

We're now in Dunhuang, an oasis in the Gobi Desert. What a striking contrast to anything else we've seen in China! It is a quiet, peaceful little town with dramatic sand dunes in the background. Dunhuang is famous for the Mogao Caves which have Buddhist statues and murals dating back to the 1st century. They're a pretty amazing sight to see. We continued to be awed by the amount of history here. We also took the requisite sunrise camel ride and slid down the sand dunes (see photo of Mark sliding down the dune). The level of organization of all of these tourist sights is also pretty amazing. There is even an admission fee for the sand dunes... admission fees range from $10 to $15 per site.