Hideen away beneath the mountains of Xinjiang are a series of caves that were inaccessible for half a century. After thirty years of negotiation with the authorities, the photographer Reza finally gained permission to visit the caves and record the extraordinary frescoes they contained. Intended as a focus of pilgrimage and prayer, these paintings were produced by monks in the kingdom of Kucha between the fourth and seventh centuries AD, and depict scenes from Buddhist mythology, its symbols, characters and creatures, and tell the story of the Buddha Shakyamuni and his previous lives.