Dunhuang

Dunhuang (敦煌; Dūnhuáng) is a city on the old Silk Road. It is in Gansu Province in northwest China. It is best known for a large group of Buddhist cave temples nearby, with much historic artwork.

Understand

A fresco, Dunhuang

The city was founded by Emperor Wudi of the Han dynasty in 111 BC at the crossroads of two trading routes on the Silk Road, and the name 'Dunhuang', meaning to 'to flourish and prosper,' gives some indication of the town's prominence in ancient China. It is much less important today.

Buddhism reached China via the Silk Road and this is one of the more important Buddhist sites on that route. The Tangut or Western Xia ruled a substantial kingdom in the area, with its capital at Yinchuan, for centuries until the Mongol conquest in the 1200s. They were the main sponsors of Buddhist construction at Dunhuang.

Get in

By plane

• 1 Dunhuang Airport (DNH  ^IATA) (is 13km east of town center). Flights are available from Beijing, Lanzhou, Urumqi, and Xi'an. There is no taxi stand at this airport. If you can get your hotel to pick you up, please do so. There can be shuttle buses which arrive when planes come, but these can be full, resulting in a long wait (1 hour) for a vehicle if you're not prepared.  

By train

The train station

• 2 Dunhuang Train Station (敦煌火车站 Dūnhuáng Huǒchēzhàn), Provincial Highway 314 (314省道), ☏ +86 937 5959562. The station is about 12 km outside the town to the northeast and close to the airport. There is also a ticket agent in town, across the street from Dunhuang Hotel, which sells tickets for most trains. Note that Dunhuang is on a branch line, and many more trains are accessible from the Liuyuan station, a 1- to 2-hour drive away. In particular, trains heading west to Xinjiang do not pass through Dunhuang directly.  

Some active departures from Dunhuang:

• Guazhou - #D2759 (46 minutes), #D2739 (55 minutes), #K42, #K9669 and #K9677 (1 hour and 16 minutes), #7537 (1 hour and 37 minutes)
• Jiayuguan - #D8933 (2 hours and 23 minutes), #D2759 (2 hours and 30 minutes), #Y669 (3 hours and 7 minutes), #K369 and #K9669 (5 hours and 12 minutes, #7537 (6 hours and 15 minutes)
• Lanzhou - #D2759 (8 hours and 18 minutes), #Y669 (10 hours and 35 minutes), #K369 (14 hours and 54 minutes), #K9669 (15 hours and 2 minutes)
• Zhangye - #D2759 (4 hours and 4 minutes), #Y669 (5 hours and 9 minutes), #K9669 (7 hours and 40 minutes), #K369 (7 hours and 48 minutes)
• Xining - #D2759 (6 hours)
• Xi'an - #K369 (24 hours and 59 minutes) [It would be quicker to catch a train to Lanzhou and then catch a Xi'an-bound train from there]

Some active departures from Liuyuan:

• Urumqi - 10 trains daily, including 3 high-speed trains (taking around 4.5 hours and 7 regular-speed trains (taking between 7 and 13 hours). The high-speed trains depart from Liuyuan South Station.
• Xi'an - 7 to 11 trains daily (taking between 19 hours and 26½ hours)

Liuyuan can be reached by catching a bus from Dunhuang Bus Station. Liuyuan Bus Station is just outside the Liuyuan Train Station and about 3 km from Liuyuan South Train Station. Alternatively, you could catch a high-speed train to Jiayuguan South and transfer to another train from there.

By bus

Dunhuang has two bus stations diagonally across from each other. Most frequent buses leave from the main bus station and not the long-distance bus station.

• Golmud - takes about 15 hours
• Guazhou - takes about 1½ hours
• Hami (3 weekly) - takes about 8 hours
• Jiayuguan - takes about 4–8 hours
• Lanzhou - takes about 17–24 hours
• Liuyuan - takes about 3 hours
• Xining - takes about 20 hours
• Zhangye - takes about 13 hours

Get around

A public bus service operates in Dunhuang's urban area, which is useful for getting to a small number of sights such as the Dunhuang Museum and the Singing Sand Dunes & Crescent Lake Park, but most of the major attractions in Dunhuang are quite far from the urban area. Fortunately, a special tourist shuttle bus service is also available.

The shuttle bus has two major routes: the western route and the eastern route. The eastern route takes passengers to the Mogao Caves and the Singing Sand Dunes & Crescent Lake Park. The western route on the other hand, normally stops at the Ancient City of Dunhuang Movie Set, Yang Pass, Yumen Pass and Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark. As of January 2021, however, the Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark is temporarily closed, so the bus is stopping at the Western Thousand Buddha Caves instead.

Shuttle buses on the eastern route can usually pick you up from any hotel in the city whereas the shuttle buses on the western route may only pick you up at select locations. You can confirm the pickup location when you purchase the tickets.

Tickets for the shuttle bus can be purchased at the following locations:

• The Dunhuang Tourist Transportation Center (敦煌旅游集散中心), which is on the west side of the Mogao Caves Digital Display Center (莫高窟数字展示中心)
• The tourist reception hall at Singing Sand Dunes & Crescent Lake Park
• The tourist information booth on the west side of Dunhuang Train Station (敦煌站)
• The tourist information booth on the west side of the Dunhuang Hotel (敦煌宾馆)
• The tourist information booth at Dunhuang Night Market (敦煌夜市), inside the Dahong Gate (大红门)
• The tourist information booth on Shazhou North Road (沙州北路), on the north side of the Health & Family Planning Office (卫计局)
• The tourist information booth on Mingshan Road (鸣山路), on the south side of the sports school
• The tourist information booth at the Jinshuiwan Housing Estate (金水湾小区), which is opposite Little Dunhuang Town (敦煌小镇)

The standard fare for both routes is ¥78. This fare does not include anything other than the bus ride. Entry tickets for the various attractions must be purchased separately.

See

Entrance to one group of caves

• 1 Mogao Caves (莫高窟) (25 km from town, most people visit on pre-arranged tour or arrive by taxi; CITS has daily tours leaving at 08:30 from front of the Feitian hotel, the eastern route shuttle bus travels here via the Singing Sand Dunes and Crescent Lake Park), ☏ +86 400 8333715. Apr-Nov: 08:00-18:00, Dec-Mar: 09:00-17:30; English tours at 09:00, 12:00 and 14:00 daily. A UNESCO World Heritage Site filled with exquisite Buddhist art and manuscripts. Although the city had an early connection with Buddhism due to the passage of monks traveling the Silk Road, it was not until a monk had a vision of a thousand Buddhas above the desert at Dunhuang in 4th century that the famous caves were excavated and filled with the manuscripts and treasures. Nearby is the White Horse Pagoda, built by a monk from India in honor of his horse, which died in the process of bringing the monk to China. It is not possible to tour the caves on your own and all visitors are assigned to different guides (included in the ticket price). The tour takes about two hours and about 15 caves will be visited; all the rest are closed. The tours are different from group to group with every group visiting the main caves. You can arrange to visit closed caves; it will cost you ¥200 per person per cave. It can be handy to bring your own flashlight (torch). A standard Type D Pass costs ¥160 for foreign visitors, which includes ¥20 for an English guide. Chinese visitors pay ¥140.  

Temple in the dunes

• 2 Singing Sand Dunes and Crescent Lake (鸣沙山月牙泉), Yueyaquan Town (月牙泉镇) (take bus no. 3), ☏ +86 937 8883388. 07:30-18:00. Worth a trip. If you're not interested in seeing the lake from up close and just want to walk among the dunes just follow the fence to the right from Charlie Jongh's Dune Guesthouse. After a couple of minutes you will find an open gate and a path leading up to the dunes. From the top of the one on the left, you can see the lake. Entrance fee for the dunes and lake park is ¥110 (¥55 low season); an additional ¥100 per person for a camel ride (as of 2021).  
• 3 Yang Pass (阳关, Sun Pass), Yangguan Town (阳关镇) (take the western route shuttle bus), ☏ +86 937 8833089. 08:30-19:00, closed from January 1st to March 16th. A fortified mountain pass built during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Part of the Silk Road and the Great Wall of China. ¥50 (entry fee), ¥10 (sightseeing car), ¥60 (camel ride), ¥50 (horse ride), ¥20 (donkey cart). (updated Jan 2021)
• 4 Yumen Pass (玉门关, Jade Gate Pass) (take the western route shuttle bus), ☏ +86 937 8821984. 1 Jan—9 Oct: 07:00-18:00; 10 Oct—31 Dec: 07:00-17:30. Another fortified mountain pass. The Yumen Pass was built around the same time as the Yang Pass. ¥40. (updated Jan 2021)
• 5 Huyang Forest (胡杨林, 敦煌千年胡杨林), Group 3, Wudun Village, Mogao Town (莫高镇五墩村三组) (20 km from town and close to the airport and railway station, take the bus to the railway station and ask the driver to go to Huyang Lin (¥3)), ☏ +86 15593735761. 09:00-18:00. It consists of a small forest of rare poplares (Populus Divesifolia). Some are more than 600 years old. Can give an opportunity for a walk far from town. Not to be confused with the Huyang Forest in Jinta County. The entrance fee is ¥40. 
• 6 White Horse Pagoda (白马塔), Xiangyun Road (祥云路) (3 km west from town center; take bus no. 3 to the Jinye Hotel (金叶宾馆), then walk 1 km west down Xiangyun Road), ☏ +86 937 8868766. 08:00-18:00. The construction of this 12-meter stupa was ordered by Kunarajiva, a Buddhist translator, in 384. It was rebuilt in the 1840s. The entrance fee is ¥15.  
• 7 Playing Pipa Statue (反弹琵琶雕像), Intersection of Yangguan Middle Road and Shazhou North Road (阳关中路与沙洲北路交汇) (bus nos. 2, 3 and 4 all atop near the statue). The 5-m-high Playing Pipa Statue is the symbol of Dunhuang. It was modelled after a figure of a pipa player that features in a wall painting in Cave 112 of the Mogao Caves. Free. 
• 8 Yardang National Geopark (雅丹国家地质公园) (180km from town, usually visited on pre-arranged tours or by taxi; the western route shuttle bus stops here), ☏ +86 9378841885, dunhuangyadan@163.com. Opening hours often change. In November 2020, the park was open from 08:00 and the last ticket sales and last entry were at 16:30; As of January 2021, however, the park is temporarily closed. The Land-forms are an area in the Gobi Desert where wind erosion has left striking rock formations 10-20 meters high. The area contains named formations resembling fleets of ships, The Sphinx, as well as camels, birds, and many others. The land-forms are an interesting contrast to the sand dunes at Dunhuang in terms of the terrain of the Gobi Desert. Tours of the area will likely also include stops at an ancient section of the Great Wall, a Han Dynasty fortress, and a small set of caves similar to Mogao. If you take any bus in Dunhuang, the conductor will likely be selling daytrips to see the Geopark and 4-6 other sights, for ¥100-120 (bus only). ¥50 entrance fee plus ¥70 for the park shuttle bus. (updated Sep 2017)
• 9 Dunhuang Museum (敦煌博物馆), 1390 Mingshan North Road (鸣山北路1390号) (bus no. 3 stops just outside the museum), ☏ +86 937 8818191, dhsbwg111@163.com. 09:00-18:30 (May to September), 09:00-18:00 (October to April), no entry in last 60 minutes, closed on Mondays. Dunhuang's main museum. Entry is generally free, but fees may be charged for access to special exhibitions. (updated Jan 2021)

Do

• Summer of Dunhuang Variety Show. June–October. Performances of singing and dancing in the Silk Road traditions. 
• Camel Trek, arranged by Charlie Johng's Cafe, Mingshan Road (Across the road and 50m north from the long-distance bus station), ☏ +86 13893763029, dhzhzh@163.com. Typically leave around 16:00-17:00. Get to know the desert firsthand on a 2- to 7-day camel trek across spectacular sand dunes. A typical trek goes for 3 days and includes a visit to the Mogao Cave. Alternately, just camp out in the desert for a night to experience the Gobi Desert's night sky, sunset and sunrise. If you don't have much time you can have a one day tour with staying in the desert and riding to the Mogao Cave in the morning (¥400 per person). Bargain hard, but going rate is between ¥250-500 per day. 

Buy

• Night market (Downtown). Good dried fruits and nuts (walnuts, dates, raisins, apricots, small tomatoes...). Many souvenirs. Some people sell wood stamps, pretending they are made from the rare Huyang tree, but they are not. Huyang tree is too soft to be carved. 

Eat

There's a normal-priced supermarket opposite the long-distance bus station (beside Feitian Binguan) to stock up on water, snacks and other groceries.

• Charlie Johng's cafe, Mingshan Road (opposite the long-distance bus station and 50 m north). Reasonably priced western meals available. Very helpful staff. ¥25 for English breakfast set. 
• Shirley's cafe, Mingshan Road (opposite Charlie Johng's cafe). It's a bit pricy and the portions are pretty small. 
• Night market skewers stalls (downtown night market). Lamb, potato, mushroom, bread... skewers; yogurt. 
• Yunnan Cross Bridge Mixian, 7 Baiwei Jie (in the night market area, between the covered market and street with all the skewers.). Until 00:00. Own by a lively small lady, eager to introduce you to her home cuisine. Tasty rice noodles with authentic sauces. Chinese speaker handy. ¥20/person. 
• Lovina Pizza, No. 1, Level 3, B Building, Business Walking Street (敦煌市商业步行街B座三楼1号) (close to the local government office, above the kaierliang supermarket), ☏ +86 937 - 8858996. 10:30 to 23:00. A nice quiet pizza restaurant (only one in town) with good easy to read menu with English and pictures. Free wireless internet and decent relatively cheap coffee. They also do deliveries if you can speak Chinese. ¥15 - 65 per pizza. 
• Oasis, Pedestrian Street (Southern end of the Pedestrian street, just a few blocks west of the Mosque), ☏ +86 150 0937 6021. opens at 14:00. Run by an Oklahoman, this cafe has good coffee, milkshakes, and a small menu with pizza and hamburgers. The wifi is fast. 

Sleep

Budget

• 1 Feitian Hotel Dunhuang (飞天宾馆), 22 Mingshan Road, ☏ +86 937 8822726, fax: +86 937 8822311. 
• 2 Charlie Johng's Dune Guesthouse (敦煌月泉山庄), 甘肃省敦煌市月牙泉鸣沙山沙生植物园 (transfer available from Charlie Johng's cafe; see Eat; oOtherwise take bus #3 (¥1) to last stop and walk 400 m to the right (look for signs)), ☏ +86 13893763029, dhzhzh@163.com. The hole place is a bit rundown (except for the nice cottages), but if you like to get out in the nature and want to stay near the dunes, then it is a really nice place. The restaurant is okay but you are better of eating in town. WiFi available. Staff speak only basic English but is helpful. laundry ¥10 per load. dorm ¥35, double ¥120, cottage ¥100. 
• Charlie Johng's Hostel (in the night market area, next to the mosque), ☏ +86 13893763029, +86 9378857298, dhzhzh@163.com. Dorm ¥50, double/twin ¥120. 
• Only Chinese name (directly opposite Charlie Johng's cafe; look for a sign with the number 444). ok twin room with hot shower & ethernet internet ¥100. 
• 3 Five Rings Hotel, 20 Ming Shan Road, ☏ +86 937 -8836574, fax: +86 937 -8835859. Double/twin ¥100. 
• 4 Zephyr International Youth Hostel (敦煌风非沙国际青年旅舍), Yueya Spring Scenic Spot (next to Dune Guesthouse, but entry is opposite, so you need to circle it; also lots of signposts leading from the main road), ☏ +86 937 8882000, fax: +86 937 8882002. Big place made out of many small cabins/huts, like a tiny village, filled with trees, swings and hammocks. Nice, relaxed atmosphere. Hot showers, free internet/wifi, and at least one English speaking staff member. Dorm bed (before HI discount) ¥25, Cabins from ¥100. 

Mid-range

• 5 Grand Sun Hotel Dunhuang (敦煌太阳大酒店), 5 North Shazhou Road, ☏ +86 937 8829998, fax: +86 937 8822121. 
• 6 Dunhuang Hotel (敦煌宾馆; Dūnhuáng Bīnguǎn), 14 Yangguan East Road, ☏ +86 937 8822538, fax: +86 937 8822195. 

Splurge

• 7 Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel (敦煌山庄), Dunyue Road (4 km south of town, 10 minutes by car south of town, the dunes are 20 minutes walk away or accessible by bus 3, taxis are easily available at the hotel), ☏ +86 937 8882088. Nice and clean hotel. Chinese/western restaurant. Roof-top cafe with beautiful views on the dunes, breakfast served here too. English speaking staff. Baby cot available. Doubles ¥680. 

Go next

Silk Road - The route between Dunhuang and Cherchen (Qiemo) is probably the hardest to do in all of the Silk Road travels since public transit is complicated between the two points.

One leg of the trip is often closed due to washouts in the river canyon or landslides in the mountains, and is closed to most traffic in the winter. Be sure to ask, before you leave Dunhuang, whether the road between Shimiankuang and Charklik (Ruoqiang) is open.

Regular buses run daily each morning from Dunhuang, Gansu Province, 731 km to Huatugou (花土沟), a small oil drilling town in northwest Qinghai Province, and daily each morning the other direction. This road, a paved highway the entire way, crosses the Altun Mountains over Dangjin Pass (当金山口, 3680 m, 39º19'14"N, 94º16'11"E) at the provincial border between Qinghai and Gansu which runs along the crest of the Altun Mountains. One source says that the road rises from 1,000 m to the 3,680 m pass in just 20 km. This road is subject to delays or closure in winter due to icy conditions.

The bus station in Dunhuang will not sell you a ticket to Huatugou unless you have an ATP. You cannot get this permit in Dunhuang because it's in Gansu province. so you have to go to the PSB in golmud, and from there to take the bus to Huatugou.

Twice daily minibuses run the 65 km in 1½-2 hours for ¥15 between Huatugou and Shimiankuang (石绵矿 literally: asbestos mine), a tiny worker hamlet north of a large surface-level asbestos mine. It's better to stay overnight in Huatugou than in the very basic lodging at the asbestos mine. Ask the Huatugou taxi driver for the Petroleum Guesthouse—石油 shí yóu 宾馆 bīn guǎn. There's also very basic lodging across from the Huatugou bus station—ask the bus driver to point you in the right direction.

Some maps do not show Huatugou (38°08'60"N, 90°52'00"E, 2,859 m) and instead show Youshashan, about 5–10 km southwest. If neither town is shown, Huatugou is just northeast of Gaz Hure Hu lake. Some maps do not show Shimiankuang (38°15'00"N, 90°52'00"E, 3,200 m) and instead show the small oil refinery village of Mangnai Zhen, about 10 km southeast. If neither town is shown, Shimiankuang is right where Highway 315 crosses the provincial border. Older maps show Shimiankuang and Mangnai Zhen in Xinjiang Province, but the area was moved administratively some years ago into Qinghai Province.

The 241 km road from Shimiankuang, at the border of Qinghai and Xinjiang, to Charklik (Ruoqiang), Xinjiang, is a rough road, over a 4,000 m pass and through a narrow river valley as well as across the desert. This is the rough leg mentioned above. The road is now paved all the way. A minibus leaves from Shimiankuangs "bus station" to Charklik at 11:00, costs ¥80.

The minibus leaves from in front of the bus station in Charklik (Ruoqiang) at 08:00 Beijing time (06:00 unofficial local time) and arrives in Shimiankuang about 6 hours later, and generally in time to catch the afternoon minibus from Shimiankuang to Huatugou. The 09:00 minibus from Huatugou meets the minibus leaving from Shimiankuang about 11:00.

From Charklik (Ruoqiang) to Cherchen (Qiemo), the bus leaves at 10:00, takes 5 hours to cover the 351 km and costs ¥58. In the other direction, a daily bus leaves Cherchen (Qiemo) for Charklik (Ruoqiang) at 10:00.

There as buses to Delingha, but be careful, the city is not open to tourists.

Stay safe

Dunhuang is a major tourist destination. Expect to be ripped off if you don't have your wits about you. Bargain hard and remember what you originally bargained for as the bill you receive at the end of the meal may not reflect the negotiated price.