Cave 285 at Mogaoku is a meditation cave with a square main hall, a truncated pyramidal ceiling, and a square central altar. Inscriptions dating from the fourth and fifth year of the Western Wei dynasty’s Datong era (538-539 AD) distinguish it as the only early period cave bearing an exact construction date. The west wall has three niches for statues of a Buddha, a Bodhisattva and a meditating monk, and the south and north walls each have four meditation niches. Most of Cave 285’s murals are depictions of Buddha, Bodhisattvas and narrative paintings. They also portray mythological Chinese deities such as Fuxi and Nüwa, various auspicious and sacred animals, and Buddhist guardian deities that originated from Hinduism and bear strong Persian Zoroastrian characteristics.

Sturdy human figures and Bodhisattvas with exposed upper bodies are painted using lighting and shading techniques from China’s western regions to impart a sense of muscularity. Also present are figures with “flowing robes with wide belts” and “tall figures with thin faces”— styles typical of the central plains and southern dynasties. Among the donor portraits are people from the Hua Kingdom in Central Asia. This cave’s rich mural compositions and diverse artistic styles visually reflect the 6th century Silk Road, where diverse peoples from different civilizations met and intermingled.