Around 138 BC, the Han Dynasty sent Chinese official Zhang Qian the Western Regions to develop relations with countries in the Western Regions. This led to the development of the Sik Road, over time (link) China's capital Chang'an with Rome. Dunhuang became one of the stopping points for merchants traveling on the Silk Road. It was a place they could find water and refreshment, and provided rest and (safe). While most of the foreign merchants who came to Dunhuang were of Central and South Asian origin, for several centuries (near)all of the Silk Road trade went through Kushan territory,and many of the merchants in Dunhuang were Kushan. Their culture combined Greek, Persian, and Indian elements to create something new. Ancient Dunhuang therefore (become) a cultural crossroads. Not only was it a town filled with treasures from as far away as Rome and Korea, it was also a town filled with people speaking many different languages, with different cultures, customs, religions, traditions, and concepts. These left their marks on the artwork (find) in the Silk Road's most important site, the Mogao Grottoes.
Today, just as the sand and the desert survived largely unchanged through the centuries, this small art gallery in the desert(survive)largely unchanged over the centuries, providing amazing look at a world ago past.
