Cultural Travel Guides to Dunhuang, China
We have hand-selected Approach Guides relevant to travel to Dunhuang, China and the Silk Road.
Ancient Buddhist Caves in India and China
The Magao Caves — known for their exceptionally well-preserved 4-14th century Buddhist murals — in the Silk Road city of Dunhuang is not to be missed! Overall, China is home to some of the most impressive Buddhist caves in the world (all UNESCO World Hertiage Sites): Mogao Caves (Dunhuang), Yungang Caves (Datong), Longmen Caves (Luoyang), and Baodingshan (outside Dazu). In this travel guidebook, we offer review in detail each site and draw connections between the art of the Chinese caves and their predecessors in India (the caves of Ajanta and Ellora outside of Mumbai). Learn more about visiting Buddhist cave sites in China…
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China’s Indigenous Religions: Confucianism & Taoism
To understand China’s indigenous religions, Confucianism and Taoism, is to understand the underlying philosophy that drives much of today’s Chinese culture. This document explains how these two faiths served as opposing, yet complementary influences on Chinese civilization. Learn more about Confucianism & Taoism…
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Religion: Buddhism
This guides helps you understand the symbols and religious philosophy that shaped some of China’s greatest artistic and architectural gems. Further, it gives insight into the country’s most prevalent non-indigenous religion, which is experiencing a resurgence in modern China. Buddhism began as a rebellious offspring of Hinduism in India, “Hindu Protestantism”, if you will, and migrated out of India to the rest of Asia via the Silk Road and other trade routes. This guide seeks to provide a framework for understanding the faith and help readers gain an understanding of this religion’s rich, global cultural legacy. Learn more about Buddhism…
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The Stupa Form’s Transformation over Time
This guide offers detailed site reviews of stupa (pagoda) structures in X’ian and Gyantse (Tibet) and traces the stylistic changes in stupa/pagoda architecture as Buddhism migrated out of India, and to China and Japan (via the Silk Road) and to Southeast Asia (via sea trade routes). Learn more about the stupas and pagodas you will encounter on your trip…
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Historical East-West Trade Connections
Dunhuang (the religious waystation) and Xi’an (the far eastern terminus of the Silk Road) served as a critical links in East-West communications and trade. The world’s first East-West trade route was the overland Silk Road, which facilitated the transportation of goods between Europe and China. Although fundamentally economic in orientation, this worldwide trade network spawned vast cultural, artistic and religious exchanges. Use this Approach Guide to discover these exchanges, which served as the underlying (and often overlooked) inspiration for many of the world’s greatest cultural landmarks. Learn more about how early global trade impacts your trip today…
Download a FREE PREVIEW (2 of 7 pages)
Price $3.99 (Format: PDF; available for immediate download)
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Note that free previews reveal only a small, yet representative, portion of the content available in the complete Approach Guides document. All images and photos in these Approach Guides and on www.approachguides.com were taken on location by Jennifer and David Raezer.
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