An exhibition of the arts of the Dunhuang Grottoes in northwest China's Gansu Province, which is now being held in Guangzhou, one of the major southern gates to the outside world, has been teeming with visitors since the beginning of this month.

On April 1 alone, the first day of the exhibition, the number of the visitors exceeded 5,000, even though each entrance ticket charges are as high as 50 yuan (about US$ 6), said one organizer.

On display are five copied grottoes, 50 mural copies, 16 painted sculptures, ten authentic documents and 40 painting copies from the Sutra Cave, 20 authentic bricks bearing decorative patterns from the Dunhuang Grottoes, as well as about 100 precious historical photos retelling the discovery of the Dunhuang Grottoes and the loss of the cultural relics to overseas countries.

The exhibition, which will run till June 3, is the first of its kind in this capital of Guangdong Province, and is also the largest of its kind ever hosted by the Institute of Dunhuang Studies based near the Dunhuang Grottoes.

In 1900, a Taoist priest, Wang Yuanlu, discovered a cave at the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang which contained more than 50,000 sutras, documents and paintings of nearly 10 dynasties from the 4th to the 11th century.

The Mogao Grottoes were included by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on the World Heritage List in 1987.

(Xinhua 04/06/2001)