The Dunhuang Temples, located in the Gobi Desert of northwest China, were witness to nearly 10 centuries of exquisite art. They also tell the story of Buddhism's complex integration into Chinese history. The historian D. Neil Schmid provides a behind-the-scenes look at the powerful monks, skilled artisans, and religious pilgrims who transformed the Buddha into a specifically Chinese icon. In conjunction with the Getty Center exhibition Cave Temples of Dunhuang: Buddhist Art on China's Silk Road. Copresented with the UCLA Confucius Institute.