Travelers to the world-famous Buddhist art site known as the Mogao Crottoes of Dunhuang in northwest China, may reach there by train at the end of this year with the construction of a railway which started last week.

The Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang are popularly known as the Thousand Buddha Caves spreading for about 1,600 meters along a hill, whose frescos, painted on the ceiling and walls of the caves, carry the best preserved troves of Buddhist art in the world.

The Mogao Grottoes consist of some 500 man-made caves that have survived some 1,600 years of volatile climate changes and other damage. They were carved out of the rocks, 25 km to the southeast of the 2,000-year-old Dunhuang town, once a vital caravan stop on the ancient Silk Road linking Central Asia with China.

Currently, tourists can reach the caves, which date back to 366A.D., by air or bus.

The 160-km-long railway will cost more than 600 million yuan (US$72.3 million).

"The project will finish in October and the railway is expected to open to traffic by the end of this year," said Gao Zhiqiang, deputy director of the provincial office in charge of the railway construction.

The project, however, has met opposition from experts on the caves, who have repeatedly warned of the harm a railroad and increased visitors would cause.

"Tourism income can fund heritage preservation, but over-exploitation for tourism may damage the unique inheritance of the site and threaten local culture," said an expert who declined to give his name.

The Mogao Grottoes was listed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 1987.

Now, tourists have to make a reservation to see the endangered frescos. The expert said the local government should definitely keep the policy and made new regulations to limit tourist behaviors, such as taking photos, which may cause damage to the murals.

Officials in Gansu Province, where Dunhuang is located, defend the project, saying that the railway will promote energy exploitation in the province.

"Considerable mineral resources lying underground the areas along the new railway and the cost to find and carry out the buried treasure will be greatly reduced with the railway," said Gao.

(Chinanews.cn March 28, 2005)