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20 Yuan 100th Anniversary of finding Dun Huang Grottoes
| Issuer | People's Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 2000 |
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| Weight | 62.207 g |
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| Reverse description | The reverse depicts a graceful flying apsara (飞天) from the Dunhuang murals, rendered in elegant low relief against a mirror-like proof field. The figure is shown in flowing robes with long, billowing scarves trailing dynamically behind, characteristic of the Northern Wei style Dunhuang frescoes. Small birds in flight are scattered across the upper field, enhancing the sense of celestial movement. The inscription 敦煌飞天（北朝）appears in the upper left, identifying the motif, while the denomination 20元 is inscribed in the lower right corner of the rectangular flan. |
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| Mintage | 2000 - Proof - 11,800 |
| Additional information |
The Dunhuang Grottoes — more precisely the Mogao Caves — were not "found" in 2000 but rediscovered in modern scholarly terms in 1900, when a Taoist monk named Wang Yuanlu broke through a sealed wall and uncovered the Cave of the Sutras: roughly 50,000 manuscripts, silk paintings, and artifacts dating back to the 4th century. Within years, Aurel Stein, Paul Pelliot, and others had removed the bulk of the collection to London, Paris, and Saint Petersburg, a removal Beijing still formally contests.
This coin commemorates the centenary of that discovery. The rectangular flan — 40 × 60 mm — places it outside standard round coinage and reflects a format China's mint began favoring for high-end cultural commemoratives in this period.