Dunhuang Travel Guide: Mogao Caves, Singing Dunes
Updated
Dunhuang is an oasis town in western Gansu province, two and a half hours by air from Xi’an. You spend the morning in painted caves 25 km out of town and the evening sliding down a sand dune 5 km south of it.
A short story about Dunhuang in Mandarin, with English alongside. The beginner version needs no Chinese. Jump to the storyA short history of Dunhuang
Dunhuang is at the western end of the Hexi Corridor, the strip between mountains and desert that links China to Central Asia. For Silk Road caravans it was the last reliable water before the desert. In the second century BC the Han dynasty made it a frontier town, with two gates beyond it: Yumen Pass and Yangguan.
Buddhism came in along the same road. For a thousand years, travellers hoping for a safe crossing paid to have caves cut and painted in a cliff outside town.
The Mogao Caves
莫高窟 Mògāo Kū
A cliff about 25 km southeast of the city, dug from 366 onwards for a thousand years. 492 painted caves survive, with some 45,000 square metres of murals and more than 2,000 statues. UNESCO listed them in 1987.
Beside the Buddhas and paradises are musicians, merchants, farmers and a wedding. The flying feitian (飞天) on the ceilings became the city’s symbol.
In 1900 the Daoist caretaker Wang Yuanlu found a sealed room in Cave 17 holding tens of thousands of manuscripts from the 4th to the 11th century. In 1907 Aurel Stein paid him about 130 pounds and left with cases of them; the British Library holds some 14,000 Chinese scrolls and fragments. The rest are split between Beijing, London, Paris and St Petersburg. The oldest dated printed book in the world, a Diamond Sutra from 868, came out of this room.
How to visit the Mogao Caves
- 1
Book as soon as you have dates
Tickets are timed and named, open about 30 days ahead and sell out in summer. Book with your passport on the official Mogao WeChat mini-program (in Chinese) or Trip.com (in English). If neither takes your passport, ask at the Digital Exhibition Center ticket office.
- 2
Start at the Digital Exhibition Center, not the caves
Every visit begins here, on the edge of the city; taxis to the caves are turned away. Arrive half an hour early with your passport.
- 3
Watch the two films
The standard ticket includes two films: the caves’ history, and a dome film inside caves that are closed.
- 4
Ride the shuttle to the cliff
A shuttle takes you to the cliff, where a guide leads your group through about eight caves in two hours. Which ones open rotates, to protect the paintings.
Photos are not allowed inside the caves, and a few famous caves cost extra.
Things to do in Dunhuang beyond the caves
The dunes are at the edge of town. The passes and Yadan have no public transport: do all three in one 8-to-10-hour day with a car and driver from your hotel. Short on time, skip Yangguan.
Mingsha Shan and Crescent Lake 鸣沙山 · 月牙泉
Míngshā Shān · Yuèyá Quán
Five kilometres south of the city. The sand hums when it slides, and between the dunes sits Crescent Lake, a spring-fed pool the sand has never buried. Climb a dune for the sunset and slide back down.
Yumen Pass 玉门关
Yùmén Guān
The Jade Gate Pass, about 90 km northwest, named for the jade carried through it. A mud-brick fort and stretches of Han wall of reeds and gravel still stand. A Tang poem made it famous: 春风不度玉门关, "the spring wind never crosses Yumen Pass."
Yangguan 阳关
Yángguān
The southern gate, about 70 km southwest, is mostly gone; a beacon tower still stands on the hill. From Wang Wei’s farewell poem: 西出阳关无故人, "west of Yangguan you will have no old friends."
Yadan National Geopark 雅丹
Yǎdān
About 180 km northwest, the farthest stop. Wind has carved the clay into long ridges that look like a fleet of ships at sunset.
What to eat in Dunhuang
Donkey meat yellow noodles 驴肉黄面
lǘròu huángmiàn
Yellow-tinted hand-pulled noodles with braised donkey meat. The local dish.
Apricot drink 杏皮水
xìngpíshuǐ
Sweet-sour and cold, made from dried apricots. Good with a greasy night-market dinner.
Shazhou Night Market 沙洲夜市
Shāzhōu Yèshì
In the centre, from evening to around midnight: lamb skewers, noodles, apricot drink, craft stalls.
Plan your trip to Dunhuang
Best time to visit Dunhuang
- JanMixed
- FebMixed
- MarMixed
- AprMixed
- MayGood
- JunGood
- JulMixed
- AugMixed
- SepBest
- OctBest
- NovMixed
- DecMixed
July and August are about 33°C, dry and the busiest, when Mogao slots go first. Avoid 1–7 October (Golden Week). Winter is quiet but cold, with January nights near minus 14°C.
Getting to Dunhuang
- Airport by car30 min
- Xi’an by air2½ h
- Beijing by air3½ h
- Lanzhou by train8 h
- Xi’an by train11 h
The airport is 13 km east of town, a taxi ride. Dunhuang Station is near it; Lanzhou trains also run overnight. Fast trains to Xinjiang stop at Liuyuan South, 130 km and two hours away by taxi.
Getting around Dunhuang
The centre is walkable and taxis are cheap. Didi has English and takes foreign cards; for the caves, set the Digital Exhibition Center as your destination.
Pay with Alipay or WeChat Pay, with a little cash for night-market stalls. There is little English outside the caves and big hotels, so carry your hotel’s address in Chinese.
Where to stay in Dunhuang
The centre, near the Shazhou Night Market, is a short ride from the dunes and the Digital Exhibition Center. Guesthouses in the villages by the dunes are quieter and minutes from Crescent Lake, but you need a taxi to dinner.
Dunhuang in three days
- Day 1. The Mogao Caves in the morning, then donkey noodles and apricot drink at the night market.
- Day 2. The dunes in the late afternoon, for the sunset.
- Day 3. The desert loop with a driver: Yangguan, Yumen Pass, then Yadan at sunset.
Questions about visiting Dunhuang
Can foreigners book the Mogao Caves online?
Yes, on the official WeChat mini-program with a passport, or on Trip.com in English. For summer, book up to 30 days ahead.
What if the Mogao Caves are sold out?
In the summer peak the Digital Exhibition Center ticket office sells an emergency ticket: four caves, no films, usually a Chinese-speaking guide.
Can you do the caves and the dunes on the same day?
Yes. Caves in the morning, rest through the midday heat, dunes for the sunset.
Can you get to Yumen Pass and Yadan without a tour?
Not by public transport. Hire a shared or private car and driver through your hotel; it is about 350 km there and back.
Can you visit Dunhuang without speaking Chinese?
Yes, with a phone: Trip.com for the caves, Didi for taxis, your hotel’s address in Chinese.
Chinese you’ll see in Dunhuang
Words from the signs, tickets and menus here.
- 敦煌Dūnhuáng
- Dunhuang
- 莫高窟Mògāo Kū
- the Mogao Caves
- 数字展示中心shùzì zhǎnshì zhōngxīn
- Digital Exhibition Center, where every cave visit starts
- 壁画bìhuà
- mural
- 飞天fēitiān
- flying celestial, the figures on the cave ceilings
- 月牙泉Yuèyá Quán
- Crescent Lake, literally "crescent-moon spring"
- 骆驼luòtuo
- camel, for rides on the dunes
- 关guān
- pass, frontier gate
- 预约yùyuē
- to book ahead
- 门票ménpiào
- admission ticket
Want more? Browse Chinese vocabulary by level.
Hear Dunhuang in Mandarin
The Mogao Caves, and the manuscripts from Cave 17 to the libraries that hold them now.
The story is Dunhuang: 492 Caves, 50,000 Manuscripts, 130 Pounds. Every level has a transcript, pinyin and English.
