Comprehensive and in-depth travel guide to Dunhuang, Gansu, a world-famous historical and cultural city

I have traveled to Dunhuang 5 times. Dunhuang has gone through vicissitudes of life, experienced several ups and downs, and has gone through a long and tortuous journey of five thousand years. The long history has given birth to the splendid culture of Dunhuang, which makes Dunhuang still brilliant. Precious cultural relics everywhere, vast classics and documents, exquisite grotto art, and mysterious mountains and rivers make this ancient town still full of splendor. Dunhuang, human beings have been active here since the end of primitive society. During the Han Dynasty, the "Hanshu" said "Dun means great. Huang means prosperous.", and the "Yuanhe County Map" of the Tang Dynasty said "Dun, It is famous for its vast territory in the western region." It can be seen that Dunhuang was a very famous place for its vast territory and social and economic prosperity at that time.

 

about

Dun, big. Brilliant, prosperous.

1. The history of Dunhuang

At the end of primitive society, the Sanmiao people who were moved to Hexi after the tribal wars in the Central Plains failed to thrive here.

During the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, Dunhuang belonged to the ancient Guazhou, and there were descendants of the Sanmiao people. At that time, the Qiang Rong people settled here as nomads.

During the Warring States and Qin Dynasties, the Dayuezhi, Wusun and Sezhong people lived in the Dunhuang area. Later, the Dayue clan became stronger and annexed the original Qiang Rong. At the end of the Warring States Period, the Dayuezhi people drove away the Wusun people and the Sezhong people, and monopolized Dunhuang until the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty.

In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the Huns invaded Hexi and defeated the Yuezhi people, forcing the Yuezhi people to migrate westward to the two river basins (Sir Darya River and Amu Darya River). The entire Hexi Corridor became the territory of the Xiongnu, known as "more than 300,000 people who control strings." After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty succeeded to the throne, in the second year of Jianyuan (138 BC), he sent Zhang Qian as an envoy to the Western Regions to contact the Yueshi and Wusun to attack the Xiongnu. In the second year of Yuanding of the Han Dynasty (115 BC), Zhang Qian made his second mission to the Western Regions and officially opened the Silk Road to the Western Regions.

The Silk Road of the Han Dynasty started from Chang'an, passed through the Hexi Corridor to Dunhuang, exited Yumen Pass and Yangguan, and was divided into two roads, north and south, along the northern foothills of the Kunlun Mountains and the southern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains. The southern line starts from Dunhuang, passes through Loulan, crosses Congling to Anxi, and reaches Daqin (ancient Rome) in the west; the northern line starts from Dunhuang, passes through Gaochang, Qiuci, and crosses Congling to Dawan. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, a new road was opened along the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, from Dunhuang through Hami, Barkol Lake, and across the Ili River to Fulin Kingdom (Eastern Roman Empire). During the Han and Song Dynasties, the Silk Road was an important transportation route to the West, and Dunhuang, as a key place, was very prosperous. Hu merchants from the Western Regions and merchants from the Central Plains gathered here, and different cultures from China and the West gathered, collided, and blended here. , making Dunhuang become "a metropolis under the jurisdiction of Huarong". It is truly a gathering of humanities and splendid culture. These prosperous scenes are vividly recorded on the murals on the top of Cave 296 of Mogao Grottoes.

During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, heroes competed in the Central Plains, and Hexi became a relatively stable area. The Central Plains scholar Su Ru and the people fled to Hexi for refuge. At this time, Buddhism introduced from the Han and Wei dynasties flourished unprecedentedly in Dunhuang. Dunhuang is the channel and gateway for the spread of Buddhism to the east, and is the center of Buddhism in the Hexi region. There are Zhu Fahu, a master translator who has lived in Dunhuang for a long time; Song Yun, a native of Dunhuang who went to India to study Buddhism, etc. Buddhist masters such as Faxian and Kumarajiva all left their footprints in Dunhuang. In the second year of Jianyuan of the former Qin Dynasty (366 years), monk Lezun opened the first grotto to worship Buddha in the Daquan Valley at the foot of Sanwei Mountain, and the Mogao Grottoes were born.

In 1949, Dunhuang City became the seat of the county government. In 1987, the county was removed and Dunhua City was established.

2. Dunhuang’s geography and social economy

Dunhuang City is located in the northwest of Gansu Province, adjacent to Guazhou County, Subei Mongolian Autonomous County and Aksai Kazakh Autonomous County. Dunhuang is located at the intersection of Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang provinces. It is bordered by Sanwei Mountain to the east, Mingsha Mountain to the south, the desert to the west connected to Lop Nur, and the Gobi to the north, connected to the remnants of the Tianshan Mountains. The total area is 31,200 square kilometers, of which the oasis area is 1,400 square kilometers, accounting for only 4.5% of the total area. The average altitude of Dunhuang is 1139 meters.

Dunhuang City has a typical warm temperate arid climate, with dry climate, low rainfall, large evaporation, large temperature difference between day and night, and long sunshine hours. The annual sunshine hours are 3246.7 hours, the annual average temperature is 9.9℃, the maximum temperature is 41.7℃, and the minimum temperature is -30.5℃.

Dunhuang has Dang River, Xishui ditch, Dongshuigou and Nanhu spring areas. The Dang River originates from the Qilian Mountains and has a total length of 390 kilometers.

Because of Dunhuang's geographical location, it is very rich in solar, thermal and wind energy resources.

At the end of 2019, Dunhuang’s permanent population was close to 200,000. In 2019, Dunhuang City received 13.3733 million domestic and foreign tourists.

 

Attractions

Introduction to Dunhuang’s main attractions

It can be said that most of the scenic spots in Dunhuang are national treasures, and they are basically worth visiting. After all, whether you can see them in the future is another matter (many ruins or cultural relics are seriously damaged).

1. Mogao Grottoes

Mogao Grottoes, commonly known as Thousand Buddha Cave, was built in the Pre-Qin period of the Sixteen Kingdoms. After the construction of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Xixia, Yuan and other dynasties, it has formed a huge scale, with 735 caves. With 45,000 square meters of murals and 2,415 clay sculptures, it is the largest and richest place of Buddhist art in the world.

Mogao Grottoes have great architectural and artistic value. Outside many caves, there are relatively complete wooden structure cave eaves from the Tang and Song Dynasties. They are rare physical materials of ancient wooden structures and have extremely high research value. The Mogao Grottoes also contain rich architectural historical materials.

The Mogao Grottoes have great artistic value of colored sculptures. The colored sculptures in the Mogao Grottoes are very rich in form, including round sculptures, relief sculptures, shadow sculptures, good karma sculptures, etc. The highest is 34.5 meters, and the smallest is only about 2 centimeters (good karma clay, wood and stone statues). The rich themes and superb craftsmanship are worthy of mention. It is called the Buddhist Painted Sculpture Museum. Cave 17 contains a portrait of the Hexi Dutong from the Tang Dynasty, and a staff-holding attendant on the back of the statue. It is one of the earliest realistic portraits of an eminent monk in China and has high historical and artistic value.

Mogao Grottoes have great artistic value of murals. The grotto murals include various Buddhist stories, mountain scenes, architectural paintings such as pavilions and pavilions, landscape paintings, flower patterns, flying Buddha statues, and various scenes of people's production at that time. They are the folk customs of more than 1,500 years from the Sixteenth Kingdom to the Qing Dynasty. and artistic representation of historical changes. The murals of each dynasty show different painting styles, reflecting the political, economic and cultural conditions of China's feudal society. They are a glorious chapter in the history of ancient Chinese art and provide precious visual historical materials for the study of ancient Chinese history.

Mogao Grottoes have great historical value. There are thousands of portraits of donors in the Dunhuang Grottoes, and more than a thousand of them still have titles and titles. Able to understand many historical situations and historical clues. Many of them can help us understand the conditions of ancient economic life. From some battle pictures, we can learn about ancient weapons and equipment, which is a valuable image material. Some colorful sculptures and murals with Buddhist content can help us understand the Buddhist thoughts, sects, beliefs and spread of ancient Dunhuang and Hexi Corridor, the integration of Buddhism and traditional Chinese culture, the process of the sinicization of Buddhism, etc.

Mogao Grottoes is the first choice for visiting Dunhuang. You can first watch a movie in the exhibition center, and then go to see the large-scale and rich grottoes and mural art.

 

Tickets

Category A visits (6,000 tickets per day, reservation required): full price ticket 238 RMB/discount ticket 148 RMB/special discount ticket 68RMB; watch the themed digital movie "Thousand Years of Mogao" and the dome movie "Dream Buddha Palace" 》, take a transportation vehicle to and from the Mogao Grottoes, and visit the 8 open caves of the Mogao Grottoes in a group of 25 to 30 people with a full-time guide. Free visits to the Dunhuang Grottoes Cultural Relics Protection Research and Exhibition Center, Dunhuang Sutra Cave Exhibition Hall, Dunhuang Academy History Exhibition Hall, Dunhuang Academy Art Museum, etc.

 

Category B visits (12,000 tickets per day, tickets can only be purchased on-site): full price ticket 100 RMB/discount ticket 55 RMB/special discount ticket 20 RMB; Take transportation to and from Mogao Grottoes, and pay 25 to A group of 30 people is equipped with a full-time guide to visit the 8 open caves of Mogao Grottoes.

 

Category C visit (digital movie): 50 RMB (April 1st - November 30th, Monday - Sunday)

Free admission: children under 4 years old

Category D visits (6,000 tickets per day, reservation required): full price ticket 140 RMB/discount ticket 95 RMB/special discount ticket 60 RMB; Watch the themed digital movie "Thousand Years of Mogao" and the dome movie "Dream Buddha Palace" ", take transportation vehicles to and from the Mogao Grottoes, and visit the 12 open caves of the Mogao Grottoes in groups of 25 to 30 people with full-time guides. Free admission to the Dunhuang Grottoes Cultural Relics Protection Research and Exhibition Center and the Dunhuang Sutra Cave Exhibition Hall.

 

Category E visits (12,000 tickets per day, tickets can only be purchased on site): full price ticket 100 RMB/discount ticket 55 RMB/special discount ticket 20 RMB; Take a transportation vehicle to and from the Mogao Grottoes, with 25 to 30 people A group equipped with full-time guides visited the 12 open caves of Mogao Grottoes.

 

Category F visit (digital movie): 40 RMB (December 1st - March 31st of the following year, Monday - Sunday)

 

Transportation: Taxi: Taking a taxi from the city to the Digital Display Center is about 9 kilometers away. Bus: Take bus No. 12 diagonally opposite Silk Road Yiyuan Hotel.

 

Mogao Grottoes contact number: 4008-333-715. Ticket prices sometimes change. You can learn more on reliable online platforms. Or you can learn more about it on the official website of Mogao Grottoes: https://www.mgk.org.cn/.

2. Mingsha Mountain

 

This is one of the most convenient places to play in the desert. Sand mountains and springs coexist here. It is named after the sound of sand moving. It was called "Shajiao Mountain" and "Shensha Mountain" in ancient times. A suitable way to play is to ride a camel to a point in Mingsha Mountain, then climb to the top of Mingsha Mountain to watch the sunset in the desert and overlook the Crescent Moon Spring.

Mingsha Mountain has been formed for more than 3,000 years. The Eastern Han Dynasty's "Xinshi Sanqin Ji" says: "There is Shajiao Mountain in the west of Hexi. The peak is steep and steep, surpassing the stone mountain. Its sand grains are thick and yellow, like dry hesitation." Shajiao Mountain here is Dunhuang. Mingsha Mountain.

Tickets

Ordinary ticket: 120 RMB (Monday to Sunday, January 1st - December 31st) (Ticket prices are for reference only, subject to the official real-time price. Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring are the same scenic spot, and tickets are universal)
Half ticket: students, senior citizens aged 60-69 and children between 1.2m and 1.4m tall with valid certificates and ID cards

 

Transportation: Take bus No. 3 in the city to the terminal station and you will reach the gate of the scenic spot.

3. Crescent Moon Spring

 

Throughout the ages, it has been famous for its desert wonders of "mountains and springs coexisting, sand and water coexisting", and is known as "one of the most beautiful scenery outside the Great Wall". The shape of the spring resembles a crescent moon, hence the name Crescent Moon Spring. It was called "Shajing" in ancient times, also known as "Medicine Spring". The spring is surrounded by Mingsha Mountain on all sides, but it is not covered by quicksand. It always has rippling blue waves and is crystal clear. It never overflows after long rains or dries up after long droughts.

4. West Thousand Buddha Cave

The West Thousand Buddhas Cave is named because it is located to the west of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes (commonly known as the Thousand Buddhas Cave). It is separated from the Mogao Grottoes by Mingsha Mountain and about 35 kilometers away from the urban area of ​​Dunhuang. It is excavated on the cliff on the bank of the Dang River. The excavation period lasted from the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Western Wei Dynasty, and the Northern Zhou Dynasty to the Five Dynasties and the Uighur period. It is an important part of Dunhuang art. According to the Dunhuang posthumous documents hidden in Paris, the construction time of the West Thousand Buddhas Cave should be earlier than the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, and at the latest during the same period of the Mogao Grottoes.

After long-term erosion, erosion and collapse by the river, only 22 caves remain. Among the 22 existing caves, the earliest one preserved is from the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Tickets are 30.

5. Yadan Devil City (Yadang National Geological Park)

It is a typical Yadan landform community. The scenic area is relatively large, and the Yadan landform is also very large in scale and very vicissitudes of life. It is about 25 kilometers long from east to west and 1-2 kilometers wide from north to south. When the wind blows, the ghost sounds are eerie and creepy, so it is commonly known as the Devil City. These masterpieces of nature are truly miraculous. And every evening when the sun sets in the west, it is a perfect place for photography. There are magnets on the ground in Yadan National Geological Park, and the compass does not work here.

It is about 185 kilometers away from Dunhuang. There are shuttle buses to Dunhuang city.

Tickets for Yadan Devil City are RMB 50, including scenic sightseeing cars.

6. Yumen Pass

 

 

Commonly known as Xiaofangpan City, it was built around 111 BC. It was named after the jade from the Western Regions passed here when it entered the Central Plains. During the Han Dynasty, it was the gateway to all parts of the Western Regions, and it was once a must-have place for merchants from the Western Regions and people from the Central Plains to come and go.

According to "Hanshu Geography", Yumen Pass and another important pass, Yangguan, are both located in Longle County, Dunhuang County. They are both the headquarters of the Duwei and important places for garrisoning troops. At that time, all transportation between the Central Plains and the Western Regions passed through the two passes, which were important military passes and Silk Road transportation routes during the Han Dynasty.

My suggestion is to go to scenic spots such as Yumenguan Ruins, Han Great Wall Ruins, Yangguan, and Hecangcheng Ruins, and learn more about the history of these sites, so that you can decide whether they are worth visiting or not. The Yumenguan ruins and the Great Wall ruins of the Han Dynasty are actually the ruins of rammed earth mounds. They don’t have the best scenery, but it is still necessary to experience and understand the historical ruins in person.

The three scenic spots, Yumen Pass, Han Great Wall, and Hecang City, belong to the same scenic spot of Yumen Pass. The entrance fee is 40 yuan and the sightseeing ticket is 50 yuan.

7. Great Wall of Han Dynasty

 

The ruins of the Great Wall of the Han Dynasty were built in the second year of Yuanshou (121 BC), the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and ended in the fourth year of Taichu (101 BC). In the west, it starts from Wanyaodun at the western end of present-day Dunhuang City, along the Shule River through Houkengzi, Yumenguan, and Dayueya Lake. It leads to Anxi from three piers, passes through West Lake, Wanghuobao, Bulungi, and Qiaowan, and passes through the Beishi River in Yumen City. Along the coast, after entering the Golden Pagoda, you can go north to Juyan along the weak water. The other route starts from Jinta along the Heihe River, passes through Gaotai, Linze, Zhangye, Shandan, passes through Yongchang, Minqin, Wuwei, Gulang, Yongdeng and other places, and crosses the Yellow River to Ningxia. It has a total length of more than 1,000 kilometers in Gansu.

The Great Wall of the Han Dynasty was an important part of the complete military defense system in Hexi during the Han Dynasty. It was also the historical epitome of the Western Han Dynasty's construction of defense projects in Hexi and even the entire north. Although it has been eroded by wind and rain for thousands of years, it still stands tall in the Gobi desert. It is one of the most well-preserved Han Great Walls in China.

8. Yangguan

 

Yangguan is a pass that must pass through on the southern Silk Road, and is the chokepoint of ancient China's overland external communications. The pass was built in the Western Han Dynasty, and it was named because it was located south of Yumen Pass. Together with Yumen Pass, it was the gateway to the Western Regions at that time. It is located on the "Antique Beach" in Nanhu Township, 70 kilometers southwest of Dunhuang City.

Yangguan, an ancient city buried by quicksand, an ancient city sung by literati of all ages. Some of the remaining houses, farmland, channels and other ruins here are still clearly visible. Since ancient times, Yangguan has always been desolate, lonely and desolate in people's hearts. Today's Yangguan is no longer synonymous with the desolate and euphemistic "no old friends when leaving Yangguan in the west" written by Wang Wei. Today's Yangguan is already a good place with green flowers and green flowers, lush forests, abundant grain, clear spring water, and bunches of grapes. .

Tickets: 50.

 

9. Dunhuang Ancient City (Dunhuang Film and Television City)

This is a historical feature film "Dunhuang" co-produced by China and Japan in 1987, which imitated the construction of the ancient city of Shazhou in the Song Dynasty. Later, many film and television dramas and variety shows such as "The Romance of the Gods", "New Dragon Gate Inn", "Running Brothers" came here to shoot.

At present, there are mainly five streets: Dunhuang Street, Gaochang Street, Ganzhou Street, Xingqing Street and Bianliang Street. The architectural style of each street represents a region. You can pay close attention to several special buildings, which are the venues featured in many film and television works and are the highlights of the ancient city.

Tickets: 40, there is no direct bus to the city.

 

10. Dunhuang Museum

The Dunhuang Museum is still very interesting. It has a large number of pottery, porcelain, letters, jade, bronzes, etc. from various eras, as well as some murals, painted sculptures and many other cultural relics. Founded in October 1979, it was formerly the Archaeological Group of the County Cultural Center. The construction area is 2400 square meters. It houses a large number of precious cultural relics from Dunhuang. The museum currently has more than 4,000 cultural relics in its collection.

11. Shazhou Night Market

Located on Yangguan East Road, Dunhuang City, it is the largest night market in Dunhuang City. It has distinctive local characteristics and rich folk customs, and is known as Dunhuang's "night scene" and "style painting". The night market is divided into five major business areas: snacks, handicrafts, "Sanpaotai" teahouse, agricultural side products, and local products. The night breeze is blowing, eating barbecue and drinking Wusu at Shazhou Night Market is what it should be like in Dunhuang.

If you are interested, you can go and watch the dance dramas "Meet Dunhuang Again", "Flowers on the Silk Road" and "Dunhuang Ceremony".

 

gourmet food

Dunhuang authentic food

1. Donkey meat yellow noodles

Donkey meat yellow noodles are a famous Dunhuang dish. Donkey meat yellow noodles are actually two dishes, one is donkey meat as a dish, and the other is yellow noodles as a staple food. Yellow noodles are carefully made from wheat flour and desert alkaline plants. The cooked noodles are slightly yellow, so they are called yellow noodles. Yellow noodles are definitely a traditional delicacy in Dunhuang. There are vivid scenes of making yellow noodles on the murals in Cave 156 of Mogao Grottoes (Song Dynasty), which shows that it has a long history. Dunhuang is very hot in summer because it is located in a desert area, and yellow noodles are appetizing, relieving tiredness, clearing away heat and relieving annoyance. In modern times, the topping auxiliary material has been improved to mushroom juice. This mushroom juice is made from shiitake mushrooms, diced donkey meat, water tofu, etc., with soup. The soup is poured over the yellow noodles, exuding the sweet taste of shiitake mushrooms. The soup also adds smoothness to the noodles and adds flavor, making the yellow noodles more delicious.

Donkey meat - as the saying goes: "Dragon meat in the sky, donkey meat on the ground." Donkey meat is delicious and is a high-protein, low-fat and low-cholesterol meat. In fact, the main reason is that there are many donkeys in Dunhuang, so they naturally eat donkey meat.

The famous donkey meat yellow noodle restaurants in Dunhuang include "Shunzhang donkey meat yellow noodle", "Daji donkey meat yellow noodle restaurant", "Luji donkey meat yellow noodle", etc. I have eaten at all three of these restaurants, and I recommend considering Tat Kee and Lu Kee.

2. Huyang braised cake

Braised pancakes are one of the most important dishes for entertaining guests in Dunhuang. According to local custom, if you find a Dunhuang girl and come to your door for the first time, if your father-in-law entertains you to eat "braised pancakes", then it is basically settled for you two.

The mutton in Huyang Braised Pancakes is pure lean meat of sheep and lamb. Put a little oil in the pot, add peppercorns and fry them until fragrant. Add the mutton to the pot and stir-fry. After the water is dry, add ginger, dried chili and dark soy sauce, and then add Boiling hot water - the amount of water can be more, so that the soup of the mutton braised pancakes will be more; bring to a boil over high heat for 20 minutes, then turn to medium heat and simmer. At this time, you can make pancakes: roll the dough into thin dough, brush with a layer of oil, sprinkle with chopped green onion evenly, roll up and cut into 3 cm wide rolls. Open the dough before putting it in the pot, spread it evenly on the mutton, pour the mutton soup and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Wait until the mutton soup soaks into the dough and absorbs the flavor. Finally, add a handful of garlic and stir-fry, then you can start the pot. . It tastes oily but not greasy. The taste is a bit unique. The large portion requires several people to eat it. If one person orders it, it is usually more than 35 for one person, 58 for two people, and 98 for four people.

Famous Hu Yang braised cakes include "Zhang Ji Hu Yang Braised Cake", "Majia Hu Yang Braised Cake" or "Da Mo Hu Yang Braised Cake".

3. Stuffed skin

 

Stuffed skin is a delicacy that has been circulated for more than a thousand years. According to the records in the Mogao Grottoes, in the Tang Dynasty, Dunhuang stuffed skin was already a hot-selling delicacy in the market. At that time, stuffed skin was called "cold". "Rang", while the local people in Dunhuang called "Niang" "Rang", so "Lengrang" slowly evolved into today's Niangpi.

4. Mutton powder soup

 

Mutton noodle soup is a traditional snack in Dunhuang and has a long history in Dunhuang. The mutton powder soup uses Dunhuang's local fat and strong Jie sheep, which has the effects of nourishing, generating heat and dispelling cold.

5. Mutton juice

Hezhi Hezhi is to combine many ingredients into one soup. In addition to mutton soup, the main ingredients of mutton soup and juice include meatballs, cooked mutton slices, fried tofu, vermicelli, white radish, coriander, and garlic sprouts.

There is a famous one called "Xia Jia He Juice", which is pretty good and you can try it.

6. Hand-grilled mutton

You can also try Dunhuang's hand-made mutton. There is a restaurant called "Jingyuan Galiu Delicious Lamb" that is pretty good.

7. Apricot skin water

Available everywhere on Dunhuang Street, it is a local signature drink in Dunhuang. Dunhuang is rich in apricots. It is made from local Liguang apricots and boiled with apricot skins. It tastes sour and sweet after being chilled and quenches thirst.

Dunhuang also has some special foods and specialties, such as: glutinous rice noodles, air-dried steamed buns, Cynomorium cynomorium, wine dates, apocynum tea, Yuqian, etc.

 

Strategy

How to get around Dunhuang

Play:

1. East route: Mogao Grottoes in the morning, Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring in the afternoon. If you arrive in Dunhuang in the afternoon, in order to make full use of your time, you can go to Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring first, and then arrange a different time for Mogao Grottoes. There are ticket types A, B, C, D, E, and F for visiting the Mogao Grottoes. Generally, we buy Class A and Class D tickets, because these two tickets can watch digital movies and visit real caves. Class A is 238 yuan and Class D is 140 yuan. Category C and F only watch the themed digital movie "Millennium Mogao" and the full-dome movie "Dream Buddha Palace". Category B and E only visit open caves and do not watch themed digital movies. This can save time and you can choose according to your own situation. Tickets vary between off-peak and peak seasons, and tickets in off-season are cheaper. You can go shopping at Shazhou Night Market in the evening.
2. Western route: Dunhuang Ancient City-West Thousand Buddha Caves-Yangguan-Yumen Pass-Han Great Wall-Yadan Devil City. This line is almost 500 kilometers back and forth. If you don’t have transportation, you can join a team or a pure play group at the Dunhuang Inn, or take the Dunhuang Tourist Scenic Area Express Train (Route: Urban-Yangguan-Yumenguan-Yadang National Geopark , the fare is 78 yuan per person, and the bus departs from Dunhuang Hotel at 8:00 every day).

3. If you arrive in the afternoon on the first day today, you can go to the Mogao Grottoes in the morning and the Dunhuang Museum in the afternoon.