Mimi Gates regularly visits Dunhuang to help with the protection of the UNESCO World Heritage site. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A window to China

Over the years, the foundation has collected nearly $6 million for the protection, research and promotion of Dunhuang. It has also engaged in scholarly exchanges that provide opportunities for the academy's researchers to study abroad.

Gates and her foundation were a big force behind the major exhibition on Dunhuang art held at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles in 2016.

Then, her foundation worked with the Dunhuang Research Academy and the Getty Museum, a longtime partner of the academy, to organize the exhibition, with funding from other charities. Two of the three full-scale replica Mogao caves shown at the exhibition were specially made for the event, and took several years of work.

Besides, about 40 important paintings, statues and other relics were also displayed during the exhibition－many of them borrowed from museums in different parts of the world.

A digital version of the caves was also on show at the event.

Speaking about the exhibition, Gates says: "Very few Americans know about Dunhuang. My feeling is Dunhuang, and Chinese art in general, offer a window into China, and it's something that many people can appreciate.