Dunhuang Culture and history
		Dunhuang is the important ancient city in the Silk Road, and it is the hub of highway communication in the northwestern plateau in China. Dunhuang means magnificent. In 11th century BC, some mineral nations lived here. In 111BC, the emperor of Han dynasty set up Jiuquan canton, and Dunhuang County was governed by it. The areas under Dunhuang's jurisdiction nowadays are the areas to the western and southern parts of Shule River in Gansu. From the two Hans to Southern and Northern Dynasties, Dunhuang was the thoroughfare between the middle part and the western part. The government of Dunhuang changed many times, but Dunhuang was always the capital of county, government office, town and province. And at that time, it was called Dunhuang or Shazhou. In Song dynasty, it belonged to Western Hsia, and province was abolished. In Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty, Shazhou was changed into a province, later on; it was changed into Dunhuang province. In Dunhuang, there are a lot of historical relics. Such as Mogao Caves, (it is called thousands of Buddha caves), it has 1500 years' history. It is in the important place in Chinese history. Dunhuang is like an arts palace and cultural house. There are Chinese ancient buildings, paintings and carvings. The ancient place of Yumenguan was the important pass of the northern part of the Silk Road.