2016 is the year of monkey. Dunhuang Research Academy released a series of frescoes and sculptures with the image of monkey on Feb. 5, 2016. The earliest monkey image it released can be dated back to more than 1,400 years ago. There are also fresco depicts the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang who traveled to the "Western Regions", 200 years earlier than the novel "Journey to the West".
 

 

Monkey image from No. 428 Mogao Grottoes. 

Monkey status from No. 209 Mogao Grottoes.

Monkey fresco from No. 285 Mogao Grottoes. 

Monkey fresco from No. 296 Mogao Grottoes.

Monkey fresco from No. 249 Mogao Grottoes. 

Monkey fresco from No. 76 Mogao Grottoes. 

The fresco depicts the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang who traveled to the "Western Regions".