Dunhuang and the Mogao Caves(650 views)

Release date:2009-10-21 14:18:22

I arrived in Dunhuang in the evening and set out in search of food. After a long train ride, the small city truly felt like an oasis. Snack vendors and restaurants with outdoor seating lined Shazhou Night Market in the city center. I stopped for some noodles and then wandered the streets examining the assortment of handicrafts.

In contrast with other night markets I’d visited in China, many of which offered predictable spreads of souvenirs, Dunhuang’s was dotted with working artists selling unique woodwork, engraved gourds, paintings and calligraphy. Other vendors sold reproductions of Buddhist artwork from the nearby Mogao Caves. The abundance of glossy prints proved that the caves were Dunhuang’s main attraction. The pristine Mingsha Sand Dunes to the south of the city came in second. I chose some artwork depicting both sights and returned to my hotel.

I spent the following morning and early afternoon relaxing and wandering Dunhuang’s shaded streets. While getting coffee in one of the city’s traveler cafes, I took advantage of something the waitress placed on my table: a notebook of travel advice from previous visitors. One traveler had left directions for bypassing the crowds in the area around the Mingsha Dunes. I copied the information and caught a local bus out to the dunes.

The sign at the official entrance to the Mingsha Dunes promised an array of sights and activities (camel rides, dune buggies, paragliding, and Crescent Lake), but I walked past the main parking lot and took a left down a dirt road. After a long walk past a camel barn and around a desert burial ground, I finally made it onto some dunes. Time actually passed quickly as I climbed the dunes and paused at occasional patches of stones and dried brush. Just before sundown, I set about ascending one of the highest dunes in the area. The loose sand made the climb increasingly slow and strenuous, but I ultimately reached the ridge. I straddled the top of the dune and caught my breath as the sun set behind the hills.

I spent my final day in Dunhuang at the Mogao Caves. After depositing my camera and other belongings at the bag check, I lined up to join one of the mandatory tours. Despite the large crowds and highly regulated feel of the visit, the caves were unforgettable. Much is said about the differences in style of the paintings from cave to cave, but I was more impressed by the variation in scale. One minute, I was leaning in to get a closer look at tiny painted figures in a complex mural, and the next I was staring up a Buddha with feet the size of small cars.

By the end of the tour, I was beginning to feel the sunburn and fatigue from my previous day in the desert. After catching the bus back to the city center, however, I found a moment to stop and leave some notes in the cafe guestbook before hailing a taxi to the airport.

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