There are ten mud-brick caves, forty kilometers north of Turpan County town, in what used to be the site of a Buddhist temple during the seventh to the fourteenth centuries under the Tang Dynasty. The murals on the cave walls depict lotus blossoms with cloud patterns, lone crown on dry tree branches, vines laden with grapes, rows of willow trees, and Buddhist portraits. Most of the paintings are accompanied by annotations in the Urgur language. Other discoveries at this site include Buddhist scriptures written in Sanskrit and Han languages, and coins of the Tang Dynasty. |
