Dunhuang

2 Jul 18


Description of Dunhuang from Wikipedia

Dunhuang is situated in a oasis containing Crescent Lake and Mingsha Shan (鸣沙山, meaning "Singing-Sand Mountain"), named after the sound of the wind whipping off the dunes, the singing sand phenomenon. Dunhuang commands a strategic position at the crossroads of the ancient Southern Silk Route and the main road leading from India via Lhasa to Mongolia and Southern Siberia,^[2] as well as controlling the entrance to the narrow Hexi Corridor, which led straight to the heart of the north Chinese plains and the ancient capitals of Chang'an (today known as Xi'an) and Luoyang.

We will be staying in Dunhuang for 2 nights. In the morning our itinerary is Mogao Grottoes. To understand the history of this cave, it best to read Mogao Caves from Wikipedia. No pictures are allowed to be taken inside the caves. The tourists need to book tickets in advance and will enter the cave ground at stipulated time where in-house cave guides will take visitors to a few selected caves to give commentaries. Apparently, there are hundred of caves and not all are opened to public.

The paintings on the caves walls are valuable historical collections  that record over 1500 years of Chinese history as well as activities along the famous Silk Route.

Behind this concrete structures are series of caves. I supposed these structures are designed to protect the caves as well as to facilitate tourist movement.

In the afternoon, we went to Mingsa Shan, sandy desert with beautiful sand dunes.  The oasis named  Crescent Lake nearby is also part of our itinerary.

Yueya Yuan or Crescent Lake

 

Mingsa Shan

 

 

A trip to the desert without a camel ride would be a waste. So we compliment our tour with a trek over the desert with a ride on the camels. Only disappointment was there are just too many lines of camels over the sand dunes. Still the experience was enriching.

Quite tired of local food, we decided on KFC, but not able to find one near where we stayed. We ate the local version, disappointingly it was way below my expectation.

 

 

 

We stayed in this international hotel.