Mogao Caves are a series of cave complexes in China housing Buddhist temples that show signs of foreign religious influences.
Dunhuang is an oasis city that formerly served as a vital stop along the Overland Silk Road.
Sacred Caves: Dunhuang, Buddhism, and the Silk Road will be exhibited at Asian Civilisations Museum from 25 September 2026 to 7 March 2027.
Priceless artefacts from Mogao Caves have arrived in Singapore for an exhibition diving deep into its illustrious past.
At the crossroads of religion, history, and trade is China’s Mogao Caves — an extraordinary cave complex inundated with artefacts and paintings dating from the 4th to the 14th century. Travellers wanting to see the UNESCO Heritage Site in person would need to undertake a 12-hour flight and an extensive land transfer to reach the destination. A far less challenging route is to visit the Sacred Caves: Dunhuang, Buddhism, and the Silk Road exhibition at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM).
Running from 25 September 2026 to 7 March 2027, the exhibition is curated in partnership with Dunhuang Academy and brings together cave reproductions with paintings, manuscripts, textiles, and religious sculptures, spanning more than a millennium of Buddhist art and referencing the region’s ancient origins as a multicultural hub.
Mogao Caves are located at Dunhuang, an oasis city in northwestern Gansu Province, China. In the distant past, the site was a vital stop along the Overland Silk Road that links China to Central Asia, India, the Middle East, and Europe. This connection is telling of its tapestry. Although Buddhist influences dominate the cave temples, markings of Hindu deities and references to Greek gods also line its cavernous halls.
At ACM, the caves themselves aren’t carved from their original positions for display at the museum’s exhibition. Three of the four caves featured are even restricted or forbidden to visitors at Mogao Caves. Instead, according to curator Louise Lui, replicas accurate to the original detail are produced for Sacred Caves: Dunhuang, Buddhism, and the Silk Road’s main attractions — four full-scale caves.
Anchoring the exhibition is Cave 249. The cave is reportedly first created during the Western Wei dynasty over 1,500 years ago, and features a colossal four-eyed, four-armed demigod sculpture from Buddhist and Chinese mythology supporting the sacred Mouth Sumeru, as the gods of thunder, lightning, wind, and rain look on. The construct of Cave 249 is an impressive feat, being the only model at Sacred Caves: Dunhuang, Buddhism, and the Silk Road to be reproduced entirely by the hands of artists and Dunhuang Academy’s Founding Director Chang Shuhong.
Another highlight is a mural titled Donor Portrait of Lady Wang of Taiyuan from China’s golden age, the Tang dynasty, depicting the noble lady in procession to pay tribute to Buddha. The artwork reveals much about the time, such as the fashionable custom of women wearing men’s robes during the 7th and 8th centuries. Notably, this artwork on display is a copy by Dunhuang Academy’s Second Director Duan Wenjie, using a specialised painting technique called linmo. Rather than presenting the artwork as it stands today, linmo lets trained artists reconstruct the original appearances of damaged paintings.
Other programming for visitors to Sacred Caves: Dunhuang, Buddhism, and the Silk Road includes a stamp trail along the exhibition’s walkthrough — participants who manage to find all six stamps can redeem a blind box containing one of four figurines of the asparas, Buddhist deities frolicking in nirvana. Storytelling sessions, a choreographed drama performance, and hands-on crafts round off what can meaningfully be a fulfilling educational experience for visitors of all ages.
Tickets to Sacred Caves: Dunhuang, Buddhism, and the Silk Road at ACM are now available.
Where: Asian Civilisations Museum, Empress Place, Raffles Place, Singapore
When: Daily from 10am to 7pm
Contact: acm.nhb.gov.sg