Dunhuang murals highlight Lantern Festival

Dunhuang Research Academy has released a series of photos of grotto paintings that depict the Lantern Festival, celebrated on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month. The academy is an institution responsible for conservation, management and research at the Mogao Grottoes (a World Cultural Heritage site at Dunhuang), the Yulin Grottoes (a nationally protected key cultural heritage site at Guazhou), and the Western Thousand-Buddha Grottoes at Dunhuang. The institution said some wall paintings feature the festival celebrations during the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties. [Photo provided by Dunhuang Research Academy]