5-Days Dunhuang Adventure to Mogao Grottoes and Yardan Landform Park

Welcome to Dunhuang, The well-known ancient cities along the silk road. Upon you arrive at Dunhuang Train Station/Airport, our tour guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. Have a good rest and be ready for the next day's adventure.

Notes:

• Dunhuang Airport is one of the four civil airports in Gansu Province, located 12 kilometres east of Dunhuang City, Gansu Province.

• Jiuquan Railway Station is 12 kilometres away from the south of Jiuquan City.

Let's start our Dunhuang adventure. This morning we are going to appreciate the Holy Center of Buddhism Culture and Art-UNESCO of Mogao Grottoes. First, you will watch two movies to get a rough idea of the history of the Silk Road and the Mogao Grottoes. Then take the sightseeing bus to the original cave area, where a professional expositor will lead you to visit seven caves.

After lunch, our tour guide will take you to the Dunhuang Museum. The museum has a great exhibition of the Silk Road culture, and it has duplicate caves with exquisite murals and statues that you can take photos of.

Notes:

• It takes 30 mins ( 28.3 km ) by car from Mogao Grottoes to Dunhuang Museum.

Continue our Dunhuang travel, today you are going to visit the Dunhuang Research Academy, a place where you can learn the story behind the murals and appreciate the painting skills.

Make your mural: Choose one of the mural samples and copy it onto a mud slab, which is made from the same material as the Mogao Caves. Take your masterpiece home with you.

Enjoy an organic vegetarian lunch at the academy before head up to the desert with a visit to the Echoing Sand Mountain & Crescent Moon Spring. Ride a camel in the desert and imagine what it was like to ride across the desert 1,000 years ago.

Notes:

• It takes 31 mins ( 28.0 km ) by car from Dunhuang Research Academy to the Echoing Sand Mountain & Crescent Moon Spring.

Witness the historical relics and spectacular landscapes near Dunhuang. In the morning, you are going to visit the Great Wall of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). You will see that it was built using layers of desert plant stems and gravel, which is quite different from the bricks used in other sections of the Great Wall.

Afterwards, you will also have a chance to visit Yumen Pass ( Jade Gate Pass ), which was once used as one of the west gates out of China during the Han Dynasty. It has been badly damaged by the shifting sands but still highlights the splendour of this magnificent architectural structure.

In the afternoon, you can explore Yardan National Geological Park. Geological Park is famous for its nighttime sounds and vivid rocks in various shapes that look like animals or world-famous attractions. If you want, you can stay there until sunsett

Today you will end your enjoyable Gansu tour, we will book the train tickets from Dunhuang to Lanzhou for you. the driver will transfer you to catch the express train. Wish you have a pleasant journey home.