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Destination China
Discover 中國! Locate a destination in China-a place you would someday like to visit. Explain briefly what about that place interests you and share that information with the rest of the class. Include the Chinese place name in both characters and pinyin. (up to 10 points extra-credit) Sample below: |
敦煌 - Dūnhuáng A friend told me about Dunhuang several years ago. He had just visited there while on vacation in China, and was very impressed with the caves full of Chinese Buddhist paintings. Dunhuang was the gateway to China from the 4th to about the 12th centuries AD. Of course, then people traveled the Silk Road to get to China from the West. Buddhists monks were among the many travelers on the Silk Road. As did others, they stopped at Dunhuang to learn Chinese before traveling onto China proper. During their stays in Dunhuang many Buddhists carved caves into the cliffs along the river bed outside of the city. Initially these caves were simple, monastic sanctuaries, but gradually over the years more elaborate caves become the norm. Today there are about 500 of these caves remaining. Since many were sealed for hundreds of years, the art work in the caves are like a time capsule of Chinese and Buddhist art of another era. Below are some images of Mogao Grottoes -- Caves of a Thousand Buddhas -- located about 25 km from Dunhuang.
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