Harlan and I returned from our nine-day planning grant trip to Dunhuang, in Gansu Province in western China, on Tuesday. It was a very successful trip, filled with many meetings with our friends at the Dunhuang Academy. If all goes well, we will be looking forward to continuing our work with the Academy in the digital preservation of the Mogao Cave site. The only downside is the horrendous jet lag that persists days after returning home, after having only just gotten over the effects from the first round of travel… It was interesting to see how Olympic fever has overtaken China at the moment, even across the far reaches of the Gobi desert. The Shanghai airport was already sold out of all of their Olympic merchandise. Here is Huanhuan, one of the 2008 Olympic mascots, whose fiery head ornament design is inspired by the murals at Mogao. He stands outside the visitor’s center at the site. Ms. Fan, Director of the Dunhuang Academy, carried the Olympic torch past this same spot only a few months ago.