Surprise around every bend.

7/19 UPDATE: Our leisurely morning turned out to be too leisurely and we didn't think there would be enough time to visit Mogao, so we decided to leave that for tomorrow. Instead we headed out to the western thousand caves. The name should be changed because it sets the expectation-bar too high. In fact there were only sixteen, with only five opened to the public. It was fun trying to translate for my Polish friend. Mostly it consisted of dates, dynasties, names of the buddhas, etc... but I did learn a couple words. The area below the caves was lush and green, so my friend had me ask if the water had always been there. It turned out there was a river nearby, so we took off walking.

We climbed over the embankment and were met not with a river, but with a small puddle of water on the far side of the river bed. At one point the river must have been huge because the canyon that had formed (Danghe Canyon) was both wide and deep. Nothing compared to the grand canyon, but a reminder none the less that when given the chance this country will surprise you again and again. Above the far canyon wall, the sand dunes slowly gave way to rock mountains. It was like looking at a gradient of time. In fact it is the cliff faces are the record of time. A quick google search, unearths the following quotes:

The Danghe area in western Gansu Province is at the focal point of interaction of the northeastern end of the left-lateral Altyn Tagh Fault and growing ramp thrusts of the Danghe Nanshan Mountains along the northern rim of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. With a thick sequence of Tertiary sediments and associated fossil records, the Danghe area is one of few places on the Tibetan Plateau that can offer integrated studies of its tectonic history, depositional environment, and biological records, including vertebrate and plant fossils.

In July and August of 2001 a mandible of Platybelodon was unearthed from the early Miocene deposits in the Danghe area,Gansu,China. It represents the most primitive and the earliest species of Platybelodon so far known.

We did not find any fossils ourselves, but the frescos within the cave walls tell a tale all their own. The were commissioned by wealthy merchants from the Wei dynasty to the Tang dynasty. Meaning they are approximately 1,000 years old. Over time the caves have been damaged by both nature and humans. The beheading of several buddha statues leaves me to believe that they were most likely damaged during the cultural revolution even though they were placed on the list of national emphasis of cultural relics in 1961.

Tomorrow we will head to the Mogao Caves which are both larger and more numerous. Hopefully I will have time prior to the train to post, if not I will talk to you next from Turpan, which my mom's side of the family will love to know is wine country.