The trip to Dunhuang was an inspiring experience for Maggie and me, and stirred many thoughts which lasted beyond the end of the journey.

I was awed by the physical beauty and underlying spiritual and philosophical themes of the cave paintings and statues which span more than a thousand years. It brought me to a new level of appreciation for the richness and longevity of the Chinese culture and how it was enhanced by influences from other diverse cultures. It also pushed me to want to learn more and long for the next opportunity.

I was amazed by the breadth and depth of Master Lee Mei Yin’s knowledge and how she kept explaining tirelessly to us when most of us were exhausted by the day’s activities. I have no doubt she was driven by her passion about the subject matter, her desire to spread the wonderment and joy she gets from it to others, and her commitment to help preserve this unique and beautiful monument. She inspired me to quest for more knowledge about the Chinese culture, and provided an object lesson for devotion to details without losing the big picture, mastering a subject without losing humility, and sharing with others without reservations.

I was inspired by President Fan Jinshi of the Dunhuang Academy, by the sacrifices she made and her devotion to restoring and preserving this heritage of mankind for us and for generations to come. I was all the more impressed by how down to earth and approachable she was, and how she patiently gave all of us her autograph at the lunch she hosted. One of the videos at the exhibition center showed her calligraphy in which she wrote that even though she has given her life to Dunhuang, if there was an after-life she would want to be Dunhuang’s daughter again. It moved Maggie and me to tears.

I was inspired by the designers and artists who created this magnificent monument. Not only did they create such breathtaking artifacts, they did it anonymously without great financial rewards or expectations that their work will inspire audiences more than a thousand years later. I thank them for the wonderful experience I had and for reminding me that we shouldn’t do good things just because there will be rewards, applause or praises from others.

We want to thank Master Lee and our travel companions, many of whom we didn’t know before, for a fantastic trip that we will remember for a long time to come.