Jiāyùguān -> Dūnhuáng

Leaving very early in the morning from Jiāyùguān after a 5 hour drive we arrived at Yúlín Grottoes and toured them. After the tour, we headed to Dunhang where we visited the Echoing Sand Dune and Crescent Lake, and then retired to our hotel to spend the night.

The 40-plus caves of the Yúlín Grottoes contain art that spans a 1500-year period, from the Northern Wei to the Qing dynasty. A number of the caves show a distinctive Tibetan influence. But since we weren’t allowed to take pictures of the interior art, I have none to post and support that comment.

Singing Sand Dunes lay south of Dūnhuáng where the desert meets the oasis. At the base of the colossal dunes is the famous Crescent Moon Lake. It would be easy to get caught up in this tourist playground of microlights, ATV, dune sliding, etc. We limited our participation to the ever-popular camel ride – so many camels, so many tourists, over 10 thousand tourists. Surprisingly, most of the tourists were Chinese. I’d say at least 95% of them. I never realized how popular tourism was in China.

Why am I riding a camel again?

Crescent Lake