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Meet a cast of real characters that bring the past of this ancient community to life: from a Buddhist nun who was also the leader of a women’s club in Dunhuang to artists responsible for the stunning paintings in the famous Mogao caves. Discover stories of Sogdian merchants who travelled across Eurasia to trade precious goods, and hear from Miwnay who came here from Samarkand with her merchant husband. Learn more about diplomats from faraway lands and fortune-tellers whose predictions influenced many aspects of daily life.
Find out how these stories from the first millennium still resonate in our world today, and explore other highlights including:
Taking place in our Paccar 2 Gallery, we expect your visit will take 45 minutes.
Ticket pricing
British Library Members go free with a guest. Select your free tickets and proceed to book, you don’t need to log in. Please bring your Membership card with you when you visit. Find out more about becoming a British Library Member.
Ticket bundles are available at checkout for this exhibition along with Medieval Women: In Their Own Words from when the latter opens on 25 October.
Other concessions are available, including for under 26s, students and those with a disability. Please see the ticket options for more details and select the ticket type you require. The British Library also offers discounts for groups of 10+, these will automatically discount once added to your basket.
ICOM, NMDC and other reciprocal free entry scheme organisation cards are accepted for free entry into this exhibition up until 16 February, there is no need to pre-book, please visit the Library with your card for entry, subject to availability.
A Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang is made possible with support from The Klein Family Foundation and the Dunhuang Foundation.
Exhibition book supported by Sir Percival David Foundation Academic and Research Fund
![](https://static.seetickets.com/content/SeeTickets/WebAdminUploads/SPDF logo Circle AW lo_smTyvuPJx.jpg)
Find out how these stories from the first millennium still resonate in our world today, and explore other highlights including:
- The longest surviving manuscript text in the Old Turkic script, a Turkic omen text known as the Irk Bitig, or 'Book of Omens'
- A stencil drawing used to produce the ‘Thousand Buddha’ drawings seen on cave ceilings from the 9th and 10th centuries
- One of the most important and complete manuscripts among the Old Uyghur Manichaean texts, the Xuastuanift, a confessional book of Manichaean Uyghurs
- Two letters written in early Sogdian dating from the 4th century
Taking place in our Paccar 2 Gallery, we expect your visit will take 45 minutes.
Ticket pricing
British Library Members go free with a guest. Select your free tickets and proceed to book, you don’t need to log in. Please bring your Membership card with you when you visit. Find out more about becoming a British Library Member.
Ticket bundles are available at checkout for this exhibition along with Medieval Women: In Their Own Words from when the latter opens on 25 October.
Other concessions are available, including for under 26s, students and those with a disability. Please see the ticket options for more details and select the ticket type you require. The British Library also offers discounts for groups of 10+, these will automatically discount once added to your basket.
ICOM, NMDC and other reciprocal free entry scheme organisation cards are accepted for free entry into this exhibition up until 16 February, there is no need to pre-book, please visit the Library with your card for entry, subject to availability.
A Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang is made possible with support from The Klein Family Foundation and the Dunhuang Foundation.
Exhibition book supported by Sir Percival David Foundation Academic and Research Fund
![](https://static.seetickets.com/content/SeeTickets/WebAdminUploads/SPDF logo Circle AW lo_smTyvuPJx.jpg)