Gansu Hexi Corridor High-Speed Rail & Photography Exciting 5-Day Tour: Dunhuang + Zhangye

Welcome to Dunhuang, Gansu! Our driver will meet you at the airport/train station exit and take you to your hotel in Dunhuang for check-in. You can arrange the rest of your time freely, or consult your guide for travel suggestions based on your interests! Since ancient times, Dunhuang has been a key route on the Silk Road connecting China to the Western Regions, Central Asia, and Europe, always playing the role of a thriving commercial and economic center. Today, Dunhuang exists as an artistic and cultural center where Eastern and Western cultures blend, and can be described as a "Silk Pearl" in the vast Gobi Desert. When you come to Dunhuang, why not follow in the footsteps of Wang Zhihuan, stand on the ruins of the Xiaofangpan City at Yumen Pass, gaze at this earthen fortress that has weathered two thousand years of wind and frost, and feel the tragic grandeur of "Why should the Qiang flute complain about the willow? The spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass," while in the northwestern desert you imagine Huo Qubing's warhorses, Wang Zhaojun's pipa sounds, the prosperity of the Silk Road... and trace the stirring chapters of history buried beneath the wind and sand. Suggestions for Free Time 1. Dunhuang Museum (closed on Mondays, reservation required): Its architectural design is unique, integrating elements such as the Great Wall, beacon towers, and ancient castles. The museum has a rich collection of about 13,524 items (sets), among which the Western Han hemp paper ink writing (one of the earliest paper objects in China), the Northern Liang stone pagoda (a treasure of Buddhist art), and the 1:1 replica cave of Mogao Cave 45 (fully presenting the murals and painted sculptures of the High Tang) are treasures worth close viewing. 2. Dunhuang Shazhou Night Market: This is one of the most representative night markets in Dunhuang. You can taste authentic Dunhuang foods such as apricot juice, donkey meat yellow noodles, pao'er yougao, braised lamb with flatbread, and red willow branch grilled lamb. Suggested Ways to Arrive 1. By Plane: Dunhuang Mogao International Airport (DNH) is about 13 kilometers from downtown Dunhuang and about 22 kilometers from the Mogao Caves. It has many direct domestic routes in China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xi'an, Lanzhou... Please be sure to check flight schedules in advance, because not all routes operate year-round. 2. By Train: Dunhuang Railway Station is about 10 kilometers from the city center, with direct high-speed rail lines to Xi'an, Lanzhou, Yinchuan, and Jiayuguan; Liuyuan Railway Station is more than 100 kilometers from downtown Dunhuang, with high-speed rail connections to Zhangye, Jiayuguan, Urumqi, Turpan, and other places, as well as trains to and from Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and other places.

Today, you will embark on a wonderful journey through Dunhuang's culture. After breakfast, head to the Mogao Caves, one of China's four great grottoes. Also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, the 【Mogao Caves】 are hailed as the "Treasure House of Eastern Art," the world's largest and richest surviving site of Buddhist art, and a witness to the blending of diverse civilizations along the ancient Silk Road. They were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Carved over a period of a thousand years, the caves contain vast and richly varied remains, including murals, painted sculptures, and cave shrines, making them a world-famous treasure house of Buddhist art. Upon arriving at the Mogao Caves scenic area, you may first visit the Mogao Caves Digital Exhibition Center to watch a fascinating digital film, "Millennium Mogao," for an initial introduction to the site. Then take the shuttle bus to the cave area (PS: photography is prohibited inside the caves). Led by a guide, you will visit 8 caves in succession, such as the Library Cave (Caves 16–17, the largest caves), the Nine-Story Tower (the popular name for the wooden structure outside Cave 96, one of the iconic buildings of the Mogao Caves), and the Nirvana Cave (Cave 148, where the reclining Buddha is located)... The specific caves visited depend on actual on-site conditions, but several classic caves will be included. If interested, you can visit the Dunhuang Grottoes Conservation and Research Exhibition Center to see 1:1 replicas of 8 highly representative caves, including Caves 275, 249, 419, 220, 217, 3, and 25 (photography permitted). After the visit, you can return to the hotel to rest following lunch. Optional places to visit Dunhuang Bookstore (reservation required): A popular Dunhuang attraction, a modern lifestyle aesthetic space combining reading, cultural creative products, coffee, and events. In the afternoon, you will head to 【Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Lake】, hailed as one of "China's Five Most Beautiful Deserts," to enjoy a stunning sunset. Mingsha Mountain is formed by shifting sand, with peaks rising a hundred meters high and steep slopes marked by wave-like sand ripples. When people slide down from the summit, the sand produces a sound like chiming bells, hence the name. It is said that on cloudless days, when the wind stills and the sand is quiet, one can even hear the strains of string and bamboo music—most wondrous indeed. Crescent Lake, located at the foot of Mingsha Mountain, is named for its shape resembling a crescent moon. Its water is crystal clear; despite years of fierce winds and sand blotting out the sun, for over a thousand years this clear spring has never overflowed in prolonged rain nor dried up in drought. Here you can stroll through the desert and admire the scenery of "a solitary plume of smoke rising straight in the vast desert, the setting sun round over the long river" and "silver mountains encircled by sand on all sides, a pool of clear water rippling green," or choose to enjoy various activities (at your own expense), such as camel riding, sand sledding, beach buggies, off-road vehicles, and hang gliders... Optional evening performances (at your own expense; advance reservation required): 1. "Music of Dunhuang" (performed year-round): The world's first cave-style immersive theater, telling the story of Baixin, a young man from the Western Regions in the early Tang Dynasty, on his quest for music. The performance uses modern technology combined with live performance to recreate the music, dance, poetry, costumes, and painting elements of Dunhuang murals. 2. "Dunhuang Grand Ceremony" (peak season only): The world's first large-scale desert live-action performance, set against Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Lake. Through a 360-degree rotating and moving audience seating area, it tells the poignant love story of a young painter and a princess, recreating the former prosperity of the ancient Silk Road and showcasing Dunhuang's unique cultural charm (including the "Molten Iron Fireworks" display). 3. "Encore Dunhuang" (peak season only): A large-scale indoor experiential drama directed by Wang Chaoge, one of the chief directors of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Audiences travel through the Library Cave and the Mogao Caves, experiencing Dunhuang culture and the splendor of the Silk Road firsthand. 4. "Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes" (peak season only): A large-scale theatrical production performed by the China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe, telling the folk story of "Miaoshan Saving Her Father." The dance movements are graceful, the cultural connotations profound, and the artistic standard exceptionally high. Notes 1. To protect the caves, the Mogao Caves operate a real-name reservation system with daily visitor limits. Tickets are divided into Type A (6,000 per day) and Type B (12,000 per day, with priority ticket purchase for domestic tourists). Type A includes 8 caves and 2 digital films; Type B includes 4 caves and the Grottoes Conservation and Research Exhibition Center. 2. On the day of your visit, please follow the visiting arrangements of the Mogao Caves management authorities. The order of visiting Mingsha Mountain and the Mogao Caves may be adjusted. 3. If you are particularly interested in the caves, you can also purchase tickets on-site for special caves (queuing may be required) to explore more exquisite caves. Special caves (at your own expense) are divided into Line One (Caves 45, 320, 321, 420, 9, and 428) and Line Two (Caves 275, 45, 156, and 158). 4. During the Dunhuang Expo or in the event of severe weather or other factors affecting visits, if the Mogao Caves cannot be visited as planned, our agency will refund the Mogao Caves ticket based on actual costs, or arrange a visit to the Western Thousand Buddha Caves as an alternative. 5. Optional paid activities at Mingsha Mountain scenic area: shoe covers, sightseeing carts, camel riding, motorcycles, off-road vehicles (3-seater), paragliding, and desert starlight camping. 6. When participating in desert entertainment activities, please take good care of your photographic equipment to prevent wind and sand from entering your camera. When riding camels, please follow the staff's instructions when mounting and dismounting.

Today, you will take a high-speed train from Dunhuang to Zhangye (4 hours 8 minutes). Zhangye is named for "extending the nation's arm and opening the Western Regions" and has the praise, "If you do not look at the snow on the Qilian Mountains, you will mistake Zhangye for Jiangnan." It was an important and prosperous city on the ancient Silk Road, known as "Golden Zhangye," and has deep connections with Xuanzang's journey to the west and the legends of Journey to the West. After arriving in Zhangye, first visit the Great Buddha Temple. 【Great Buddha Temple】, also known as "Reclining Buddha Temple," was first built in the first year of Yong'an of the Western Xia Dynasty (1098). It has a history of more than 900 years and is one of the four existing imperial temples in China. Inside the temple is the largest indoor clay reclining Buddha in China and even Asia. The Buddha is about 34.5 meters long and about 7.5 meters wide at the shoulders; even a person could lie flat on one finger. In addition to the great Buddha, the hall also contains many Buddhist statues such as the Ten Great Disciples and the Eighteen Arhats, as well as murals of stories from Journey to the West and Classic of Mountains and Seas. In addition, the couplet outside the Great Buddha Hall, "The sleeping Buddha sleeps long, sleeping for a thousand years and never waking; the questioner asks forever, asking for a hundred generations and never understanding," is worth careful observation. There is also a couplet with the same content in Western Xia script. Remember to ask the guide to explain the differences between its stroke structure and Chinese characters. Moreover, artifacts such as Persian silver coins unearthed in the temple further confirm the prosperity of Silk Road trade. If time permits, recommended optional visit sites 1. Shanxi Guild Hall: first built in the second year of Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty (1724), funded and built by Shanxi merchants Zhao Shigui, Zhao Jiyu, Zhang Chaozhu, and others. It has a history of more than 300 years. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Shanxi merchants built about 400 guild halls across the country, covering Tibet, Xinjiang, and other places, confirming the proverb, "Wherever trade is prosperous, there must be Shanxi merchants; wherever Shanxi merchants live, there must be a guild hall." It features the Guandi Temple and the theater tower. 2. Zhangye Museum (closed on Mondays): its collection includes more than 10,000 cultural relics, covering various historical artifacts from prehistoric times to the Qing Dynasty, with a wide variety, including bronzes, pottery, jade, and cultural remains of the Silk Road. In addition, the museum has a 1:1 replica cave of the Jinta Temple Grottoes for you to enjoy. Note: At present, significant progress has been made in the digital restoration of the reclining Buddha statue at Zhangye Great Buddha Temple. The opening time of the digital exhibition hall is subject to official notice. After opening, you can gain an in-depth understanding of the historical and cultural background of the reclining Buddha through an immersive experience. In the afternoon, you will visit the area with the largest, best-developed, and most richly shaped Danxia landforms in China - Zhangye Rainbow Danxia. 【Zhangye Rainbow Danxia Scenic Area】 is located at the northern foot of the Qilian Mountains. It is one of the seven most beautiful Danxia landforms in China and has titles such as "one of the world's top ten magical geographical wonders" and "one of the twenty-two most unforgettable landscapes in the world." Its grandeur, spectacular scale, peculiar shapes, and brilliant colors are unparalleled. Standing within it is like entering a colorful fairy-tale world. The scenic area has four viewing platforms, with shuttle buses running between them. The shuttle route from the North Gate is: Rainbow Fairyland Platform (No. 2) → Rainbow Cloud Sea Platform (No. 1) → Rainbow Splendor Platform (No. 5) → Rainbow Sunset Platform (No. 4). Among them, the most recommended are Platform No. 1 (the largest viewing platform in the scenic area, overlooking the overall Danxia landscape and the S-shaped road, and the best place to photograph sunrise) and Platform No. 4 (the most brilliantly colored; at sunset, the Danxia set off by evening glow is like a "sea of knives and fire," called by visitors "pork belly mountain"). Optional visit sites Zhangye World Geopark Museum (closed on Mondays): a science education base for understanding Danxia landforms and the geological evolution of the Qilian Mountains. You can enter from the North Gate. Overnight in Zhangye. In the evening, you can stroll through the night market and taste authentic foods such as donkey meat and apricot juice tea. Travel tips 1. At sunrise, the light is soft, the colors are vivid, and the contrast is high, making it an excellent time to photograph the panoramic view and fine textures of Rainbow Mountain. At sunset, the warm afterglow falls on the hills, forming golden silhouettes, also an excellent time to capture the beauty of Rainbow Mountain. If you want to capture the sunrise scenery, please confirm with your travel consultant about staying overnight at a hotel near Rainbow Mountain. 2. Another best time to appreciate the Danxia landforms is after rain, when the colors become more vivid and enchanting due to moisture. 3. The scenic area may require uphill walking, so comfortable shoes are essential. 4. The scenic area also offers entertainment items such as camel riding, hot air balloons, gliders, and helicopters (additional charge required).

Note: If you are staying overnight at a hotel near Zhangye Danxia Geopark, it is recommended to get up early to enjoy the most spectacular sunrise over the "Rainbow Mountains." After the tour, proceed to the next stop of today's itinerary. This morning, you will drive to the Mati Temple Grottoes (about 60 km, about 2 hours) for a visit. [Mati Temple Grottoes] are nestled at the foot of the snow-capped Qilian Mountains amid secluded pine valleys. Carved during the Northern Liang period of the Sixteen Kingdoms (397–439 AD), they have a history of over 1,600 years. Along with the Dunhuang Mogao Caves and the Guazhou Yulin Caves, they are known as the "Three Great Art Treasure Houses of the Hexi Buddhist Holy Land" and are an unmissable Buddhist art relic along the Hexi Corridor. The grottoes are embedded in the Danxia cliffs, stretching for dozens of kilometers, a truly spectacular sight. Over 70 cave niches remain, bearing traces of construction from the Northern Liang, Northern Wei, Sui-Tang, Western Xia, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. In the same space, you can see the elegant statues of Han Buddhism and the richly colored murals of Tibetan Buddhism—a living fossil of Han-Tibetan cultural fusion. Entering Mati Temple, the most breathtaking sight is the Thirty-Three Heavens Caves "hanging" on the cliff face, with seven levels and 21 caves in total. Climbing through them feels like traveling through a three-dimensional Buddhist hall, experiencing the adventure of "caves within caves and Buddhas hidden within caves." Its thrilling and extraordinary nature is unique among Chinese grottoes. The statues and murals inside are brilliantly colored and exquisitely crafted, silently telling of a thousand years of vicissitudes. In addition, the superb natural scenery here complements the cultural relics. From the summit, you can overlook the magnificent Qilian Mountains, and in summer, you can witness the "suspended grottoes" spectacle where snow-capped mountains and grasslands meet. After lunch, you will drive about 57 km (about 1 hour) to visit [Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon], hailed as a "living textbook of geological history." Located northeast of Zhangye City, Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon lies in the transition zone between the corridor plain and the Inner Mongolia Plateau, an important passage from the Hexi Corridor to Inner Mongolia. Eroded by wind and rain over hundreds of millions of years, the canyon has formed a landscape interwoven with Danxia, Yardang, and canyon landforms. It is known for its desolate and magnificent red rock formations and has been described as "comparable to Zhangjiajie" and "on par with the Grand Canyon," earning the title "China's Colorado." It is not only a stunning geological wonder on the Silk Road but also one of the most charming attractions on the Qinghai-Gansu tourism loop. Especially under sunlight, the canyon's rock layers become brilliantly colored, described as a "mysterious world like an alien planet." Recommended Activities: You can overlook the spectacular panorama of the grand canyon from the viewing platform, venture deep into the canyon floor to feel the beauty of nature's craftsmanship, or check in at the One-Line Sky and climb the cloud ladder for special experiences. After the tour, return to your Zhangye hotel to rest. Notes 1. Mati Temple is at an altitude of about 2,580 meters. Mountain temperatures are low with large day-night temperature differences, so please bring warm clothing! 2. Climbing the grottoes (especially the Thirty-Three Heavens) requires going up and down narrow passages and demands physical stamina. Comfortable, non-slip shoes are recommended. 3. Weather in the Qilian Mountains hinterland is changeable, with occasional gusts and rain. It is recommended to bring a raincoat or windproof, rainproof jacket for contingencies.

At this point, your wonderful and unforgettable 5-day, 4-night high-speed rail and photography tour of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu is about to end. Suggestions for Extended Itinerary 1. If you would like to extend your trip and explore other highlight areas of Gansu, such as Wuwei, Jiuquan, Guazhou, etc., we can make careful arrangements for you.