Hi everyone, have you tried the coloring game for our first theme? If you missed the first theme, don't worry. Here comes the second round. This time, we will introduce you to the second theme, which is about Dunhuang. We've prepared you with some beautiful fashion patterns from the album compiled by the expert Chang Shana. 

What is Dunhuang? 

The city of Dunhuang, in north-west China, is situated at a point of vital strategic and logistical importance, on a crossroads of two major trade routes within the Silk Road network. Lying in an oasis at the edge of the Taklamakan Desert, Dunhuang was one of the first trading cities encountered by merchants arriving in China from the west. It was also an ancient site of Buddhist religious activity and was a popular destination for pilgrims, as well as acting as a garrison town protecting the region. The remarkable Mogao Caves, a collection of nearly 500 caves in the cliffs to the south of the city, contain the largest depositary of historic documents along the Silk Roads and bear witness to the cultural, religious, social and commercial activity that took place in Dunhuang across the first millennium. The city changed hands many times over its long history, but remained a vibrant hub of exchange until the 11th century, after which its role in Silk Road trade began to decline.

The Silk Road routes from China to the west passed to the north and south of the Taklamakan Desert, and Dunhuang lay on the junction where these two routes came together. Additionally, the city lies near the western edge of the Gobi Desert, and north of the Mingsha Sand Dunes (whose name means ‘gurgling sand’, a reference to the noise of the wind over the dunes), making Dunhuang a vital resting point for merchants and pilgrims traveling through the region from all directions.  As such, Dunhuang played a key role in the passage of the Silk Road trade to and from China, and over the course of the first millennium AD, it was one of the most important cities to grow up on these routes.  

Dunhuang initially acted as a garrison town protecting the region and its trade routes, and a commandery was established there in the 2nd century BC by the Chinese Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). A number of ancient passes, such as the Yü Guan or "Jade Gate" and the Yang Guan, or "Southern Gate", illustrate the strategic importance of the city and its position on what amounted to a medieval highway across the deserts. 

Crafts and skills also moved along the Silk Roads as traders and craftsmen met and exchanged notes, and a small number of scrolls in the Mogao Caves illustrate the use of woodblock printing in Dunhuang, a technique that originated in China in the early 8thcentury.  The most famous text in the library cave, the Diamond Sutra, which dates to 868 AD, was made using this technique and is the first complete printed book in the world. Woodblock printing would later spread across Asia, as traders passed on knowledge and ideas that they had acquired whilst traveling the Silk Roads.

The deadline for the 2nd theme is from May 21 to May 25. Pick one of the following patterns, and send your works to 1042982037@qq.com with the mail title "Silk Road Week 2020 Coloring Game + Name + Contact details) 

Come on! Go and have a try! 

Please click the link below to download the patterns :

http://www.silkroadweek.com/data/file/20200521/%E7%AC%AC%E4%BA%8C%E6%9C%9F%E5%9B%BE_Photos_for_second_week.zip