Perspectives on Buddhism in Dunhuang during the Tang and Five Dynasties Period

Dunhuang, in the Gansu province of China, was an important Buddhist center between the years 500 and 1,000 AD, and hosted a large number of monasteries.  Pilgrims from China, India and Tibet met here and in the nearby Mogao Caves, where there is a large extant body of Buddhist art and written sources, forming our most detailed source of information about the Buddhist communities of China, and their interaction with co-religionists from other countries, in this era.