Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes Discovery 3 Days & 2 Nights Tour

Highlights

• Travel along the famed Silk Road, an ancient trade route that opened up the wonders of China to the middle east and beyond
• Explore the Buddhist caves and surrounding desert by in the ancient trading city of Dunhuang

The Best Time to Visit

When the leaves are falling and the shadows of snow are curling like the sky in winter, it's the most wonderful time to visit Dunhuang! Expectations for this little Silk Road town, waiting in the clear sunshine until its energy gradually explodes - Dunhuang in winter, different! Stunning, different warmth. If coming to Dunhuang at other times of the year is considered a trip, then coming to Dunhuang in winter is truly bringing the heart home.

Dunhuang Tour Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive in Dunhuang

Arrive in Dunhuang by air or train, meet your English-speaking guide, and transfer to your hotel for the night.

Dunhuang, historically known as Shazhou, was an important stop on the Silk Road. Explore the region’s Buddhist heritage at the Mogao Grottoes and its frontier history at the ruins of Yangguan and Yumenguan, places celebrated in Chinese poetry.

Day 2 Dunhuang (B, L)

After breakfast, visit the Mogao Grottoes, also known as the Thousand-Buddha Caves, about 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang. Carved into sandstone cliffs, the caves preserve Buddhist art created over many centuries. Explore a remarkable collection of painted sculptures and murals that reflects the cultural exchanges of the Silk Road.

Visit Echoing Sand Mountain, where wind and movement across the dunes can produce a low, resonant sound. Walk among the dunes and take in the desert landscape.

Encircled by the mountain, there is the Crescent Moon Lake, so called because of its shape. The water in the lake is so pure and sweet that it looks like an emerald set in the sand. Many of the visitors who have made their way down the mountain like to drink from the lake. According to historical record, the lake has been in existence for hundreds of years without ever being buried by the sand; it is really a geological wonder.

There is also a story about the lake. In the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC- 24), a general called Li Guang, together with a group of soldiers, captured a powerful and swift horse from Dawan, a western state of China at that time. When passing the Echoing-Sand Mountain upon their return, the soldiers became too thirsty to continue their march. General Li drew his sword and thrust it into the side of the mountain causing water to spring forth and so formed the lake.

You will then be taken back to your hotel for the night.

Day 3 Dunhuang-departure (B)

After breakfast you will be taken to either the Dunhuang airport or train station, and you will travel on to your next destination.