Dunhuang on the Silk Road

Another place which is a must visit on the Silk Road is the city of Dunhuang. A very small town in the desert but that is where the famous Mogao Buddhist Caves are located. More than 700 caves of very well preserved frescos, and art are kept behind doors leading to the caves. You must go with a local guide who takes you into the caves and explains the details taking about 2.5 hours. It is recognized as the best preserved caves and art in all of China. No photos are allowed but there is a wonderful book store on the site. There is a new railroad station now and takes about 12 hours from Turpan overnight on a sleeper. I prefer to drive back to Urumqi for a good night's sleep and fly to Dunhuang the next morning arriving about the same time the train does. There are good hotels in the city but the 4 star Dunhuang Shan Zhuang hotel on the edge of the city overlooking the great Sand Dunes is in the desert traditional style. There is a wonderful stage show in the evening at the city theater called the Dunhuang Goddess shown above. It is not included in Group Tours but you can usually get tickets for the evening performance on your own or on our private tours, we generally schedule it for our clients. Check our web site for 2010 as we have many new package tours this year that can give you ideas about planning a private tour of your own. Quality Tours to China is our business since 1992