Dunhuang, a city in West China's Gansu Province, is located at the westernmost end of the Passageway West of the Yellow River. Ever since the Han Dynasty, it was a strategic passage from the Central Plains to the Western Region and an important post on the silk-road. To date it has a history of over 2,000 years.

Dunhuang grotto art is a comprehensive art incorporating architecture, painted sculpture and murals. Painted sculpture is the main part of Dunhuang grotto art whereas the mural is a component part. Dunhuang grotto art is a national Buddhist art among the people with Chinese style based on traditional art in Han-Tang Period but merged with foreign art. Among Dunhuang grottoes, Mogao grottoes, a treasure in world Buddhist art, has been listed as a world cultural heritage.

On June 22nd, 1900, a Buddhist-scripture-keeping cave was discovered in Dunhuang Mogao grottoes by a Taoist priest, which contains over 50,000 pieces of cultural relics including Buddhist scriptures, social documents, embroidery and paintings-on-silk during a period from 4th to the 11th centuries. It was a discovery that shocked the whole world as it provides a large quantity of extremely precious material for researches in ancient history, geography, religion, economy, politics, nations, language, literature, art, science and technology of China and East Asia, which has since been praised as encyclopedia of middle ages and ocean of ancient learning.

The rich content and immeasurable worth of Dunhuang grottoes and Dunhuang literature has not only been highly valued by Chinese scholars, but also attracted numerous scholars from different countries in the world. Their devotion in the study of Dunhuang relics has formed an international branch of study -- the study of Dunhuang grottoes, which shines with dazzling splendor in international humane studies.