About 60,000 paper manuscripts, printed documents and fragments -- now preserved in Beijing , Paris, London and St. Petersburg -- were found in a secret sealed-up cave discovered at the end of the 19th century. A sizeable chunk of these treasures are part of the Stein Collection at the British Library, including the world's earliest printed book, the Diamond Sutra (circa AD868). Most of the collection is available in surrogate form. The collection of Dunhuang Chinese manuscripts at the National Library of China comprises over 10,000 Chinese scrolls. The International Dunhuang Project was established in 1993 to promote the study and preservation of manuscripts and printed documents from Dunhuang and other central Asian sites via international cooperation. A joint study between the Dunhuang Academy and Japanese researchers was formed for the conservation of the wall paintings and statues.

 Painted Statues and Flying Apsaras

Dunhuang has 2,415 painted statues and five wooden-structured caves. The Mogao Grottoes contain priceless paintings, sculptures, some 50,000 Buddhist scriptures, historical documents, textiles, and other relics that first stunned the world in the early 1900s.

The walls of the 492 Mogao Caves include frescoes that cover over 45,000 square meters. There are about 4,500 Flying Apsaras figures found in some 270 caves.

 Feminization of the Bodhisattvas

In Indian caves, the proportions of the body, postures and facial expressions were all constructed in a realistic yet highly imaginative manner. The figures display a strong distinction in terms of gender, both in physique and disposition: The male figures have plump faces, moustaches and robust bodies while the female figures have round faces, big eyes, long eyebrows, thick lips, full breasts, slim waists, broad hips and bare feet. The sex organs of male and female figures are also clearly marked. Although Kucan figures inherited this style, they did not like to represent naked deities.