Reverse Travel to Dunhuang

📍Attraction address: Dunhuang, Gansu 🚗Transportation: Car rental (if you only plan to visit the Mogao Caves and Mingsha Mountain, we recommend taking a bus or taxi) 👍️Must-see attractions: Mogao Caves, Mingsha Mountain 🎟️Tickets: Mogao Caves tickets are CNY 140 in December, and Mingsha Mountain tickets are free and valid for 3 days with an ID card. 💗Other tips: Day 1: I left Lanzhou on the night of November 29 and took a sleeper train to Dunhuang. I arrived in Dunhuang on the morning of November 30, and took a bus (CNY 5) to Silk Road Yiyuan Hotel. After a quick freshen up, I went to a small restaurant next to the hotel and had donkey meat soup dumplings (delicious and cheap, CNY 12). Then I rented a car to Yumen Pass. To be honest, Yumen Pass is not worth visiting, but on the way back, I saw a beautiful sunset and truly felt the meaning of the poem "The desert is straight and the long river is round." I returned to Dunhuang at around 7 pm and went straight to the Dunhuang Night Market to eat donkey meat noodles (maybe I chose the wrong restaurant, the noodles were average and expensive). Day 2: I went straight to the Mogao Caves in the morning, visited 10 caves, and sneaked into 6 more. I was able to see the artistic creativity of ancient people up close, and I also felt the difficulty and determination of modern artists to protect cultural relics. I arrived at Mingsha Mountain (free admission) at around 3 pm, and left the scenic area at around 5 pm without watching the sunset. Day 3: I went to Yangguan in the morning. There is not much to see in the scenic area, but when you stand on the land of the ruins, facing the vast land in front of you and the snow-capped Qilian Mountains in the distance, and think of the famous poem "No old friends west of Yangguan," you will feel a sense of desolation. At 1 pm, I went to Mingsha Mountain again, climbed to the top of the desert, and walked along the edge of the desert while looking at Crescent Lake. My long-time wish was finally fulfilled in December 2024. Dunhuang, you are so beautiful and warm!