I. Must-visit scenic spots
• Mogao Grottoes: a world-class art treasure trove with 735 caves and 45,000 square meters of murals. Must-see the world's third largest Buddha with nine floors of 96 grottoes, 17 grottoes and flying murals of 220 grottoes and 45 grottoes. You can book Class A tickets in advance in the "Dunhuang Research Institute" applet. You can visit 8 grottoes and watch digital movies, and you can also visit special grottoes for an additional fee.
• Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring: Located five kilometers south of Dunhuang City, it is famous for its "desert wonders". You can climb to the top of Mingsha Mountain 2 hours before sunset to enjoy the amber-colored beauty of the Crescent Spring, and you can also experience camel riding, sand sliding and other projects. The newly opened "Star River Camp" provides professional astronomical telescopes, which are suitable for observing the starry sky.
• Yadan Devil City: Located 158 kilometers northwest of Dunhuang City, it is recommended to take an off-road vehicle into the Wei Development Zone at 18:30 to watch the unique scenes of the "Golden Lion Welcome" and "Peacock Looking Back" and other wonders in the sunset. The scenic spot night tour project also adds AR geological evolution sandbox.
• Yangguan Museum: Built on the relics and cultural heritage of ancient Yangguan, there are city buildings and many exhibition halls imitating the Han Dynasty in the scenic spot, displaying many cultural relics on the ancient Silk Road, which can make people feel the historical atmosphere of "no old people out of Yangguan in the west".
II. Travel route
Day1: First encounter with Dunhuang, fireworks and history intertwined
• Morning/noon: After arriving in Dunhuang, priority is given to staying in the city hotel (recommended near Shazhou Night Market, such as Rujia Business Hotel and Dunhuang Villa, with convenient transportation and convenient night tour). If you arrive early, you can go to the Dunhuang Museum (open for free and closed on Mondays) after the hotel rest, focusing on visiting the reproduction murals of the 45 caves in Exhibition Hall No. 16, and learn about the historical background of the Silk Road in advance.
• Evening: Go to Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring Scenic Area (ticket 110 yuan, valid for three days), it is recommended to enter the park after 16:00 to avoid the high temperature. Experience the camel riding project (100 yuan/person, about 1 hour), choose the right-row camel to update the film; then climb to the top of the sand dunes on the west side of Mingsha and wait for the beautiful scenery of "Jinsha Yingquan" at sunset.
• Evening: Participate in the lighting ceremony of Crescent Spring at 19:30, you can bring a tripod to take a night view of the starry sky and lights; then go to Shazhou Night Market, you must taste donkey meat yellow noodles (25 yuan), roasted lamb chops (35 yuan / string), with ancient apricot peel water (8 yuan) to relieve greasy, and you can also buy a flying silk scarf. , colorful pottery ornaments and other cultural and creative products.
Day2: In-depth tour of Mogao Grottoes, crossing the thousand-year-old Buddhist country
• Morning: Make an appointment for Mogao Grottoes Class A tickets (including digital movies + 8 general caves) in the "Dunhuang Research Institute" applet one month in advance. During the peak season, it is recommended to grab the special cave quota at 8 o'clock (recommend 57 caves "Beauty Caves" and 220 caves "Lewu Grottoes"). First, watch "Millennium Mogao" and "Dream Buddha Palace" (60 minutes in total) in the digital center, and then take the shuttle bus to the cave area. Follow the interpreter to visit, focusing on the nine floors of 96 caves and 17 caves.
• Noon: Have a meal near the Mogao Grottoes Scenic Area, or return to the city to taste Xiajia Hejui's mutton noodle soup with crescent moon cakes.
• In the afternoon: Go to Xiqianfo Cave (the sister cave of Mogao Grottoes, with few people and pure people) to enjoy the murals of the Northern Wei Dynasty; then go to Leiyin Temple (an ancient temple in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Xuanzang once lived here). In the evening, you can take photos of the same frame of the red wall and Mingsha Mountain, and wear Hanfu or western-style costumes.
• Evening: Watch the immersive performance "See You Again in Dunhuang" or "Dunhuang Ceremony", and feel the shocking interpretation of cultural elements such as Silk Road Business Travel and Flying Sky (the ticket price is about 298-588 yuan, and you need to buy tickets in advance).
Day3: Exploring the Western Front, Border Style and Gobi Wonders
• All day: Choose carpooling or chartering (carpooling 650 yuan per person, 4 people in a group) to start a one-day tour of the West Line. It is recommended to leave at 7:00 to avoid the high temperature. The route is: Yangguan → Yumenguan → Great Wall of Han Dynasty → Yadan Devil City.
• Yangguan: 50 yuan for the entrance fee, experience the "customs clearance document" project (30 yuan to stamp 26 seals), and climb the beacon platform to take pictures of the border scenery of the desert.
• Yumen Pass: The ticket price is 40 yuan. You can take pictures of the whole picture of Fangpan City and watch the ruins of the Great Wall of Han from afar. You can take aerial photos after registering at the drone reporting office.
• Yadan Devil City: ticket + shuttle bus 100 yuan, after 17:30, take an off-road car (550 yuan/car, need to book 3 days in advance) deep into the development zone, and watch the fantastic light and shadow of Yadan landforms under the sunset such as "Peacock Open Screen" and "Fleet Out to Sea"; if you have enough time, you can participate Scenic spot night tour project, experience AR geological evolution sandbox.
• Evening: After returning to the city, go to the barbecue restaurant on the edge of the city to taste the grilled Wei and Jin salt fried pork in Jiayuguan. After that, you can stroll along the Party River Style Line and enjoy the night view of the poplar light box.
Day4: Niche Eggs, Cultural Experience and Return
• In the morning (choose one of the two):
• Option A: Go to Yulin Grottoes (Mogao Grotto Sister Grottoes, ticket + shuttle bus about 80 yuan), focus on visiting the Tang Dynasty Shuiyue Guanyin murals in the 25 grottoes, and you can bring your own flashlight to carefully observe the details; then go to the Luoyang City Ruins to experience the archaeological project of hand-printing the Tang stele.
• Option B: Check in the giant sculpture of the Son of the Earth (free of charge), the aerial view is more shocking; then go to the Dunhuang Academy of Painting and participate in the mural copying class (180-280 yuan, including mineral pigments, the work can be taken away).
• Noon: After checking out, enjoy the last northwest-style lunch in the city (braised noodles or mutton braised rice is recommended), and then buy dried apricots, lockyang coffee and other gifts.
• Afternoon: Go to Dunhuang Airport or railway station according to the flight/train time (it is recommended to arrive 2 hours in advance) to end the trip.
III. Food recommendation
• Donkey meat yellow noodles: the noodles are chewy, with secret donkey meat sauce, "Laomajia" in Shazhou Night Market is a good choice.
• Mutton braised cake: simmer slowly with poplar charcoal, and the crust absorbs the essence of mutton soup. It is crispy and delicious. "Ayijia" by the Party River is worth a try.
• Apricot peel water: boiled with local apricot peel, sweet and sour to quench thirst, the ancient method of "Laojiekou" boiled apricot peel water tastes pure.
IV. Accommodation selection
• Urban area: Dunhuang Villa, antique style, the roof can see Mingsha Mountain, the price is 500-1000 yuan; Dunhuang International Hotel, near the night market, the facilities are relatively new, the price is 300-600 yuan; Dunhuang Sunshine Shazhou Hotel, convenient location, the price is 200-400 yuan.
• Near Mingsha Mountain: Dunhuang Crescent Spring Town, with desert style, you can walk to the scenic spot, the price is 200-500 yuan; Dunhuang desert camping, you can experience the bonfire party and starry sky tent, the price is 200-400 yuan/person.
V. Traffic Guide
• External transportation: You can choose to take a plane to Dunhuang Airport, or take a train from Lanzhou, Xi'an and other places to Dunhuang. The night train can save time.
• Transportation in the city: The price of a taxi is cheap, generally 5-20 yuan, and there are few bus routes. If you want to go to a distant scenic spot, such as Yadan Devil City, it is recommended to sign up for a group tour or charter a car.
VI. Precautions
• Dunhuang has strong ultraviolet rays, so you need to bring sunglasses, hats, SPF50 + sunscreen and other sunscreen products.
• It is difficult to get a ticket during the peak season of Mogao Grottoes, and you need to make an appointment 1 month in advance.
• Take photos in the desert, wear red, white and black clothes to take more photos. You can wear sand-proof shoe covers when playing in Mingsha Mountain, or you can bring your own sand-proof mobile phone cover.
If you yearn for a trip with a story, come to Dunhuang! Here, you can be a traveler chasing the sunset on Mingsha Mountain, a visitor listening to the murals in the Mogao Grottoes, or a returnee of the starry sky by the Crescent Spring - every opening method in Dunhuang hides unexpected surprises.