PreeChina · Route Guide
A sample itinerary from Dunhuang that PreeChina can turn into a custom tour, with an English-speaking guide and personal assistant.
At a Glance
Price
Per person, in US dollars. The price covers the guide, the ground service, and the transport, meals and tickets in the itinerary, and it falls as the group grows. What a price includes and leaves out.
| Travelers | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day trip | USD 305 | USD 220 | USD 185 | USD 175 | USD 160 | USD 155 | USD 145 | USD 135 |
Premium hotels and first-class rail raise the price: the selectors on Private Tours show by how much. The final price is confirmed in writing before anything is booked.
Why This Route
The Mogao Caves sound like a single cave. They are a Buddhist cave complex cut over ten centuries, from the 4th to the 14th century. More than 700 caves survive, with 45,000 square metres of murals.
In 1900 the Daoist Wang Yuanlu found the Library Cave. Stein, Pelliot and others carried tens of thousands of manuscripts and silk paintings to London, Paris, St Petersburg and Tokyo, and that dispersal created the international field of Dunhuang studies. UNESCO listed the caves on their own in 1987.
The other three stops sit close to town: the old city with its night market at the centre, Dunhuang Museum at 1 km, and the Mingsha Dunes with Crescent Lake at 6 km. The Dunhuang city guide covers the town itself.
Itinerary
Dunhuang Shazhou Night Market (敦煌沙州老城·沙州夜市). The historic district of Dunhuang, with its night market.0 km from central Dunhuang, straight line
Dunhuang Museum (敦煌博物馆). An art museum in central Dunhuang.1 km from the previous stop, straight line
Mingsha Dunes and Crescent Lake (鸣沙山-月牙泉). A crescent-shaped spring held in a ring of sand dunes, which the drifting sand has not buried for a thousand years.5 km from the previous stop, straight line
Mogao Caves (莫高窟). A Buddhist cave complex cut between the 4th and the 14th century.12 km from the previous stop, straight line
Stops follow distance from central Dunhuang. We do not list clock times here: your private itinerary sets the pace, the order and the start time with you.
Route Map
The yellow marker is central Dunhuang. Numbers 1 to 4 follow the route order. The line joins stops in a straight line and does not follow roads.
Stop by Stop
0 km from central Dunhuang, straight line
The historic district of Dunhuang, with its night market.
1 km from central Dunhuang, straight line
An art museum in central Dunhuang.
6 km from central Dunhuang, straight line
A crescent-shaped spring held in a ring of sand dunes, which the drifting sand has not buried for a thousand years. The sound of the singing sand and the sunset are the main draws.
17 km from central Dunhuang, straight line
A Buddhist cave complex cut between the 4th and the 14th century. More than 700 caves survive, with 45,000 square metres of murals. In 1900 the Daoist Wang Yuanlu found the Library Cave. Stein, Pelliot and others carried tens of thousands of manuscripts and silk paintings to London, Paris, St Petersburg and Tokyo, which created the international field of Dunhuang studies.
Distances
| # | Stop | Type | Straight line |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dunhuang Shazhou Night Market | Old City | 0 km |
| 2 | Dunhuang Museum | Museum | 1 km |
| 3 | Mingsha Dunes and Crescent Lake | Dunes and Spring | 6 km |
| 4 | Mogao Caves | UNESCO Caves | 17 km |
Straight-line distances from the centre of Dunhuang. Road distances are longer.
Independent Travel
Arranging these 4 stops yourself keeps the budget lower. It also means booking each one and the transfers between them. Compare a private tour with independent travel, or ask PreeChina to plan it.
Custom Tour
This route is a starting point: 1 day and 4 stops. PreeChina plans it as a private, tailor-made trip and changes the stops, the days and the pace to your group.
Questions
The caves sit 17 km from central Dunhuang in a straight line. The road distance is longer.
The cave where the Daoist Wang Yuanlu found tens of thousands of manuscripts and silk paintings in 1900. Stein, Pelliot and others carried them to London, Paris, St Petersburg and Tokyo.
A crescent-shaped spring inside a ring of sand dunes. The sand has not buried it for a thousand years, and it lies 6 km from central Dunhuang in a straight line.
More than 700 caves survive, cut between the 4th and 14th centuries, with 45,000 square metres of murals.
Start from the stop order on this page, then tell us your dates, group size and pace through the contact form. We build the route into a private itinerary with an English-speaking guide and personal assistant from arrival to departure.
Anyone who wants a full day at one place. The route moves between 4 stops, so the visit at each is shorter.
Plan More
Explore More
This route is in Gansu. The province page lists its city guides, themes, museums and other routes.
Related
Tell us when you arrive in Dunhuang, who is travelling and how much time you have. We build the route around your group.
