Abstract:Wei-Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties were a period of coexistence between landscape painting and religious painting. During this period, Taoist and Buddhist painting became gradually prosperous, landscape painting has become an independent discipline. Buddhist painting flourished particularly in Southern and Northern Dynasties. Buddhist themes and landscape elements have emerged in Dunhuang art. Influenced by Chinese landscape aesthetics, Dunhuang Buddhist murals show different forms and styles from those in India and Central Asia, with a greater emphasis on expressing scenery, architecture, and secular life. These are the representation of landscape design and landscape culture during this period. Based on Dunhuang Buddhist murals in Wei-Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, this paper compares Buddhist art in India and Central Asia during the same period, in order to further clarify the portrayal of landscape during this period in ancient China.