Voices from Dunhuang: An exhibition at the British Library, 27 September 2024–23 February 2025

In Autumn 2024, the British Library will mount an exhibition exploring the stories of the people who inhabited or passed through the oasis town of Dunhuang during the first millennium. Located in modern-day Gansu province, in northwest China, Dunhuang was originally established as a garrison town and became an important commercial centre due to its strategic location at the cross of the Northern and Southern Silk Roads. As such, it was also a meeting point of cultures and ideas from India, Persia, Tibet, and China.

Living on the Silk Roads: voices from Dunhuang’ will take place in our PACCAR 2 gallery, for what is intended to be quite an ‘intimate’ display highlighting the cosmopolitanism of this small local but vibrant community. The exhibition will feature a wealth of items, many of which will be shown together for the first time in twenty years. This will be a rare chance to see a rich selection of manuscripts ranging from long horizontal scrolls to small booklets, as well as several extremely significant printed materials, pictorial works, and three-dimensional objects...