About Mogao Grottoes history:The grotto was first chiseled in 366 AD. According to legend, this area was marshland over 1000 years ago. A monk called Yue Zun dreamed of 1000 golden Buddhas when he was traveling home across this region and he decided to turned his dream into reality.

Over the next 1000 years, 16 dynasties rose and fell; artists of each period contributed. The construction work was completed during the Yuan dynasty and since ever, the grottos have stood there through natural erosion and war flames for hundreds of years. Today, 492 caves are still standing. Altogether there are 2,000 statues and over 45,000 separate murals.

In addition, murals of Buddha, Bodhisattva, kings of the paradise, mighty fighters, minor thousand-Buddha, and flying Buddhist angels, with the background of mountains and rivers, beatify the mystic grottos into an Buddhist world with wind blowing and clouds floating.

In fact, the Mogao Grottos value themselves more than art as most murals reflect the lives of those times. For example, there is a mural showing a scene of robbers robbing a foreign businessman. This picture has revealed the contact between China and the world.

Yang Rou Pao Mo is a type of mutton stew. Some People believe there are two things that you must do when you visit Xi`an: one thing is visiting the terra cotta warriors and another is to taste Yang Rou Pao Mo. It has become very popular as a dish for entertaining foreign visitors. In 1983, the dish was moved from the restaurant to the national banquet, and in 1993, Chinese traditional painting master Huang Zhou wrote an inscription mainly describes its appetizing taste. Because of this the Yang Rou Pao Mo becomes more and more famous. If you come here to taste it first, you do not eat too much because it is very filling.

Raw materials:
Fresh mutton 750g, flour 350g, yeast powder, agalic, yellow daylily, rice noodle, scallion, ginger, pepper, aniseed, caraway, chilli sauce, refined salt, monosodium glutamate.

How to make Yang rou pao mo:
1. Put agalic, yellow daylily and rice noodles into a laver, dip into cold water for half an hour.

About Beijing:Beijing (北京 Běijīng) is the capital of the most populous country in the world, the People's Republic of China. It was also the seat of the Ming and Qing dynasty emperors until the formation of a republic in 1911. Beijing is the political, educational and cultural centre of the country and as such it is rich in historical sites and important government and cultural institutions.The city is well known for its flatness and regular construction. There are only three hills to be found in the city limits (in Jingshan Park to the north of the famous Forbidden City). Like the configuration of the Forbidden City, Beijing has concentric "ring roads", which are actually rectangular, that go around the metropolis.

Foreign visitors to Beijing can usually afford to take a taxi everywhere they want to go.  The price ranges from 10 - 35 RMB for most destinations.  Airport can set you back up to 140 RMB.  Still, when you convert it back into local currency is still cheaper than most places in the world.  The main problem is communication.  Be prepared to have your destination written in Chinese characters to hand to the driver.  English is almost non-existent and even place names all have their own unique Chinese name.