Yu Jing, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India, took to social media and shared an unseen image of Lord Ganesha. However, it was not the idol of the Hindu deity we know. Jing shared an image that resembled Ganesha found in Magao Caves in China. This comes just days before PM Modi’s meeting with Xi Jinping at the SCO summit.
Sharing two images, Jing posted an image of a Ganesh sculpture carved during China’s Tang Dynasty, an intricate cave painting from the Mogao Caves. The spokesperson wrote, “A beautiful reminder of how China & India shared art, faith, and culture centuries ago.”
Ganesha’s image can be found in China's Tang Dynasty and the Mogao Caves!
A beautiful reminder of how China & India shared art, faith, and culture centuries ago. 🌏✨ #ChinaIndia pic.twitter.com/KLuY15dDIV— Yu Jing (@ChinaSpox_India) August 29, 2025
China’s Tang Dynasty
Present during the “golden age” of Chinese civilisation, the Tang Dynasty came after the famous Sui Dynasty. It was marked by one of China’s greatest imperial eras, cultural and religious feats, with slight influence from Hindu and Buddhist figures. The presence of Ganesha in Tang China comes from its Buddhist-dominated era, in which he appears in both their iconography.
The exchange of culture was also a result of the vibrant Silk Route passing from the Tang Dynasty’s capital city. It not only gave trade a boom, but also increased visits from Indian monks, underscoring diversity in Chinese religious life.
Ganesha in Magao Caves
The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes, have been growing for over a thousand years. The caves have the world’s largest collection of Buddhist art with 492 caves decorated with 45,000 square metres of mural art.
The existence of Ganesha paintings is also related to the cultural exchanges that happened along with the Silk Route between India and China, owing to syncretic multiculturalism. In the past, Ganesha has appeared in Tibetan and Buddhist iconography alongside Hindu gods such as Shiva and Kartikeya.
Calling it a “historic harmony,” the internet was vastly impressed by the confluence of culture to have existed between India and China. “‘Art, faith and culture’ have always been India’s biggest export to all countries in East and South East Asia,” replied a user to Jing’s post.
