The Asian Civilisations Museum's big exhibition of the year opens tomorrow, Friday 25 September 2026: Sacred Caves: Dunhuang, Buddhism, and the Silk Road, with life-size reproductions of the Mogao Caves shown in Southeast Asia for the first time. It runs for more than five months, to 7 March 2027, and for Singaporeans the ticket is cheap: $10 for adults, and free for seniors, students and young children.
> Quick view: 25 Sep 2026 to 7 Mar 2027 · ACM, 1 Empress Place · daily 10am-7pm, Fri to 9pm · SC/PR $10, free for SC/PR seniors 60+, students and PWDs (+1 caregiver) · tourists $25 ($20 concession) · kids 6 and below free · free blind box from 2 Oct via a six-stamp trail
What is on show
The Mogao Caves were carved into the cliffs at the edge of the Gobi Desert between the 4th and 14th centuries, outside the Silk Road oasis city of Dunhuang, and are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. ACM's exhibition brings life-size reproductions of cave interiors alongside paintings, sculptures, manuscripts and textiles.
Two highlights ACM calls out on its exhibition page:
- Cave 249 (Western Wei dynasty, 535-556), where a four-eyed, four-armed asura holds up Mount Sumeru surrounded by the Chinese gods of thunder, lightning, wind and rain. It is the only cave in the show reproduced entirely by hand; the others were made with digital scanning and printing.
- The donor portrait of Lady Wang of Taiyuan from Cave 130 (Tang dynasty), a 1959 reconstruction by Duan Wenjie, the second director of the Dunhuang Academy, painted to show how the mural originally looked.
Tickets and hours
| Visitor | Sacred Caves ticket |
|---|---|
| Singaporean / PR adult | $10 |
| Singaporean / PR senior (60+), student, PWD + 1 caregiver | Free |
| Foreign resident / tourist adult | $25 |
| Foreign resident / tourist concession | $20 |
| Children 6 and below | Free |
Singaporeans and PRs need to show a pink or blue NRIC, and concession visitors need valid proof of identity at the Visitor Services counter. The exhibition needs an all-access ticket; ACM's permanent galleries remain free for Singaporeans and PRs.
- Dates: Friday 25 September 2026 to Sunday 7 March 2027
- Hours: daily 10am-7pm, Fridays 10am-9pm; admission ends 30 minutes before closing
- Where: Special Exhibitions Gallery, Level 2, Asian Civilisations Museum, 1 Empress Place, Singapore 179555
ACM encourages buying tickets online to cut waiting time. Tickets are non-refundable.
The blind box (from 2 October)
This is the part collectors will care about. From 2 October 2026, finish an interactive stamping trail that runs across Sacred Caves and ACM's permanent galleries (all six stamps) and you can redeem an exclusive Sacred Caves blind box. Three figurines are inspired by Dunhuang's apsaras and hold objects from ACM's collection, and a secret fourth design nods to a familiar Singapore custom. It is while supplies last.
A separate Nine-Coloured Deer stamp trail inside the exhibition gives you an illustration to take home, with bonus stamp stations at the Bank of China and The Fullerton Hotel nearby.
Programmes for families and fans
- Cave of Colours (Lobby, Level 1, daily): dress up in Mogao-inspired costumes and make a digital painting with Dunhuang pigments. Needs an all-access ticket.
- ACM & Me children's space: new Tang dynasty dress-up, a Nine-Coloured Deer zoetrope and a light room, daily 10am-6pm (closed 12.30pm-2pm for cleaning).
- Free activity booklets for ages 7-12 and 13 and up, in English and Mandarin.
- Curator tours with curator Louise Lui: 30 October and 27 November 2026, 7.30pm-8.30pm, $25, registration on Peatix. More dates in Jan/Feb 2027 are to be confirmed.
- ACM Adventures: Caves of Wonder, Sunday 29 November 2026, 11am-4pm: storytelling, a drama performance, crafts and shadow puppetry, with free admission to most programmes.
- Sacred Caves Weekend Festival, 27 and 28 February 2027, with free and ticketed activities.
- Symposium, 8-10 January 2027, organised with the Dunhuang Academy, Harvard-Yenching Institute and others (ticketed).
What this means for you
- Singaporean seniors and students pay nothing, so this is one of the best-value exhibitions of the year for grandparents and teens. Bring NRIC or a student pass.
- Go after 2 October if you want the blind box, and do not leave it to the final weeks since it is while supplies last.
- Friday nights are the quiet option: the museum stays open to 9pm.
- There is no rush otherwise. At five-plus months, it covers the December school holidays and Chinese New Year 2027.
Photo: Asian Civilisations Museum official (Sacred Caves exhibition key visual).
