China Travel China City China Tour China Hotel China Flight Testimonial About us  Site Map

Dunhuang

Dunhuang lies at the western end of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province in Northwest China, an oasis rounded by high mountains, desert and Gobi on the eastern edge of Taklimakan Desert. It is nourished by melted snow water from the Qilian Mountains. Dunhuang city was called “Shazhou (sandbank)” in ancient times and used to be an important stopover point with military importance on the Silk Road. Being bordered upon Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Qinghai provinces, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia Hui and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regions, it is a throat for the west and east communication. With such historical background and its attractive natural sceneries, Dunhuang is known as an important historical, culture and tourism city in northwest China, which was entitled to be "China’s historical and cultural city" in 1986.

With an area of 3,120 square kilometer and a population of 100,000, Dunhuang is a multinational city with many minority groups mixed with Han Group, such as Hui, Tibetan, Dongxiang, Yugu, Baoan, Mongolian, Kazak, Tu, Sala, and Manchu. So the unique culture makes it a charming place. It has an aridity climate with an annual temperature of 9.3 °C and annual precipitation about 1,982 mm. The temperature there is varying dramatically from daytime to night, as a native saying goes, “ Morning with fur-lined jacket, noon gauze”.

Dunhuang city has a long history; its name "Dunhuang" was given in the Han Dynasty. In Chinese "Dun" means grandness and " Huang" means prosperity. In the 2nd century B.C. Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty sent imperial envoy Zhang Qian to the Western Regions, opening up a trade route, which was to be known as the "Silk Road" in history. The imperial court set up Dunhuang Prefecture in A.D. 111 and Dunhuang became a strategic town. Through this route Chinese culture and products, especially silk, were introduced to European and Middle East countries, and foreign culture and products such as Buddhism of India came to central China. Much of Buddhism is propagated through artistic forms, which were soon assimilated into the Chinese traditional culture. The result was that many Buddhist images were carved in caves in mountain cliffs along the Silk Road. Many of them have been well preserved. And the best are known as Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. When you visit Dunhuang, you can taste many local products, for instance, Liguang Apricot, Ziyang Peach, Mingshan Dates, Yangguan Grape, Watermelon of Murmurous Flesh, Bailan Melon, Huanghemi Melon, apple-pear etc. You can also enjoy the Qinqiang Drama and see the beautiful handcraft carpet there.

Dunhuang Attractions

Dunhuang Tour Photo

Dunhuang Tour
Dunhuang one day private tour
Dunhuang 3 days private tour
Dunhuang airport transfer
Dunhuang train station transfer

Dunhuang Photo