Dunhuang is a unique place full of humanistic and historical sentiments. It is also a transit point for exchanges between the ancient Central Plains civilization and the countries in the Western Regions. For many tourists, they can learn more knowledge systems here. , so that you can feel the charm of different Chinese cultural elements. Here is a specific strategy guide to share with you.
When you go to Dunhuang, which is famous at home and abroad, in addition to visiting Mogao Grottoes, Crescent Moon Spring, Mingsha Mountain, Yangguan, Yumen Pass, Devil City and other places, you can also experience the Dunhuang style with the charm of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. 1. Mogao Grottoes
“The Mogao Grottoes are very cool, with a coolness beyond people’s imagination.” This is something that many tourists have not expected, and we are no exception.
Everyone who goes to Dunhuang must go to the Mogao Grottoes. This has become an unbreakable "truth". It’s no wonder that Dunhuang’s fame was entirely created by Mogao Grottoes, and it is human nature to pursue fame and fortune.
We chose to go to Mogao Grottoes in the morning. Departing from the Oasis Hotel in Dunhuang City at 8 o'clock in the morning, we arrived at the parking lot of the Dunhuang Academy more than 40 minutes later. Then it took half an hour to go through the formalities. At about 9:30, led by Ms. Wang, the tour guide from the reception department of the institute, we started to visit through the ticket gate.
Mogao Grottoes, commonly known as Thousand Buddhas Cave, is the representative cave group among the Dunhuang Grottoes. Located on the gravel cliff at the eastern foot of Mingsha Mountain, 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, it was first built in the second year of Jianyuan of the former Qin Dynasty (AD 366) and went through Northern Liang, Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Western Xia, Yuan There were ten dynasties before and after, which lasted for thousands of years. A total of 735 caves have been preserved so far, including 492 caves with statues and murals, more than 45,000 square meters of murals, more than 3,000 colored sculptures, and 5 wooden eaves from the Tang and Song Dynasties.
Since the discovery of the world-famous Scripture Cave in 1900, Dunhuang has once again attracted people's attention. When visiting Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, in addition to several caves such as the Sutra Cave and the Nine-Floor Caves, the Sutra Cave Cultural Relics Exhibition Hall is a must-see. People are already familiar with the Tibetan Scripture Cave, so I won’t go into details here.
In fact, the ninth floor is also a very famous attraction in Mogao Grottoes. Visitors to Dunhuang almost always take photos in front of the nine-story Mogao Grottoes, which is the landmark building of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. However, people may not know that from the Tang Dynasty to the present, the nine-story building has been rebuilt 22 times.
This is a miracle in the history of world architecture. Although every reconstruction is a re-establishment of faith, we still have to marvel at the huge power of believers.
During the visit, the tour guide told us the story of the 22 reconstructions of the nine-story building. In October 1999, in order to improve the lighting in front of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, people dug a cable trench in front of the cave. When the project was carried out in front of Cave 96, square tiles and stone pillar foundations were discovered about 1 meter below the surface. Experts conducted rescue excavations. First, excavations were conducted in front of Cave 94, 95, and 96, and then trenches were dug on the ground in front of the ninth floor. Based on comprehensive analysis, excavations were conducted in Cave 96. By the end of the excavation in mid-November of that year, a total of 500 square meters had been excavated and significant gains had been made.
After this excavation, the Tang Dynasty ground in front of the nine-story Beida Statue was revealed. The excavation of the ground made the Buddha one meter taller. At the same time, a number of precious cultural relics were unearthed during the excavation, and the ruins of cave front halls from the Early Tang, Xixia, and Qing dynasties were discovered. The cave floors including those from the Yuan Dynasty appeared in front of people. Prior to this, the ruins of the temple in front of the cave were discovered during the Five Dynasties period. This discovery pushed the date of the temple in front of the cave by 200 years. Experts believe that the front hall of Cave 96 has been renovated 22 times.
It does not take a long time to visit the Mogao Grottoes, because only about 10 caves are open among all the caves, and the visit only takes about one and a half hours
After that, the rest of the time was spent on shopping and other activities. The nine-story building was the last item we visited. After visiting the nine-story building, the tour of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes ended.
The colorful murals and the stories that accompany the virtual and the real made me remember Dunhuang firmly. But what left the deepest impact was the coolness inside the cave.
Because caves and cave dwellings are warm in winter and cool in summer, they are like a natural air conditioner. 2. Mingsha Mountain
Today's Dunhuang is a small county in the west of the Hexi Corridor, but in the prosperous Tang Dynasty more than a thousand years ago, it was an international metropolis. In 2005, Dunhuang's tourism revenue reached 390 million yuan, which is the envy of many counties and districts in Gansu, among which Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring are indispensable.
"It is as curved as the moon string rising at the beginning, and half of the wall is clear as a mirror." Crescent Moon Spring is located 6 kilometers south of Dunhuang City, Gansu Province. It is surrounded by Mingsha Mountain. The spring is shaped like a half moon, so it is called Crescent Moon Spring. In the past 2000 years, Crescent Moon Spring has been famous at home and abroad for lying alone in the sand sea without dying.
Visiting Crescent Moon Spring is the most pleasant. This comfort is produced by the comparison of intense heat and coolness.
Dunhuang is very hot in summer, with temperatures often staying above 33 degrees Celsius. At the same time, the city is surrounded by a large area of ??Gobi Desert, so except for the Mogao Grottoes, which is more comfortable, it is difficult to visit other places. To face the rolling heat wave.
Before I came to Dunhuang, a friend reminded me that it is more comfortable to go out at five or six o'clock in the morning or after eight o'clock in the evening when visiting Dunhuang. At other times, I must be prepared for sun protection.
Mingsha Mountain is not far from the center of Dunhuang. There are direct buses in the city with a fare of 2 yuan. If you take a taxi, you can get there with a starting price of only 5 yuan.
After getting on the bus at the hotel entrance, we arrived at the entrance of Crescent Moon Spring Park in about ten minutes. After entering the gate, groups of camels appeared in our sight. People who have never ridden a camel, like sandboarding, or like walking in the desert can have a great time. But going sand sliding in Mingsha Mountain and walking in the desert in the scorching sun is undoubtedly a test. The sun in the Gobi Desert is so hot that it will peel off a layer of skin on your arms in just half an hour. The feeling of heat will be unforgettable for your entire life.
After trekking to the beach, the Crescent Moon Spring is in front of you, and a long-lost sense of comfort comes with it. Next to the Crescent Moon Spring is the Moon Spring Pavilion, which is a group of antique buildings surrounded by long corridors, shaded by green trees, and three or four tea stalls scattered randomly. Tourists who are tired of playing or walking can just find a chair to sit down, pour the sand out of their shoes, stretch their bodies comfortably, and then ask the boss for a glass of apricot peel water, and suck it slowly with a straw. Savor it slowly, and the sour, sweet and cold feeling will instantly make you feel refreshed. Apricot skin water is Dunhuang's signature drink, which is made from the dried apricots of Li Guangxing, a local specialty. Two yuan for a large cup and one yuan for a small cup. The price is moderate and the flavor is unique.
After you have rested enough, stand up and take a walk, look at the Crescent Moon Spring at your feet, look at the sand mountain opposite, chat with the boss for a few words, and then let the breeze blow your body.
This kind of comfort can only be found in Crescent Moon Spring. 3. Devil City
In the morning, we visited the Mogao Grottoes, and at noon we experienced the comfort after hardship at Mingsha Mountain. At about four o'clock in the afternoon, we drove to Devil City and visited Yumen Pass and Devil City along the way.
Yumen Pass and Devil's City are places that Dunhuang people talk about. As soon as we arrived in Dunhuang, friends kept talking about it, as if Dunhuang was the only place besides Mogao Grottoes.
Some friends described the Devil City as a mysterious place, while others described the Devil City as a pile of loess far away from the city. As a result, the Devil City became a A place that tourists long for.
Everyone familiar with the matter said that the sunset in Devil City is the most beautiful scenery, so Devil City needs to be appreciated at sunset. After we hurriedly took a photo in front of Yumen Pass, we hurried to Devil City. city.
The Devil City is 190 kilometers away from Dunhuang. It is a large-scale Yadan landform group that has been discovered in China near Dunhuang City. It is connected to Lop Nur on the west side and covers an area of ??about 400 square kilometers.
"Yadan" is a Uyghur word, and its original meaning refers to a hill with steep walls. In geology, Yadan landform specifically refers to a landscape composed of a series of parallel ridges and grooves that have been eroded by long-term winds.
The reason why it is called Devil City is mainly because the wind speed here is extremely fast. When they pass over the ground, they will make a strange "woo-woo" sound, like a devil roaring, so people Call it "Devil City".
There are no devils in Devil City, but instead there are unforgettable landscapes. We arrived at Devil City at around 7:20 pm, just in time to catch the "sunset setting by the seaside".
After we stopped, a shocking picture appeared in front of us. To the east of us, there are dozens of mounds cut by strong winds, standing next to each other, some four or five meters high and two or three meters low. They are arranged very regularly, with wind ducts in the middle. .
These mounds were connected together as a whole hundreds of thousands of years ago. Later, the natural environment changed, and strong winds blew from this land, gradually turning the crisp soil and sand in the middle of the mounds into pieces. The grains were blown away, and at the same time, the strong wind like a knife passed by, carving these mounds into strange shapes.
It was getting late after visiting the Devil City, and the afterglow of the setting sun shone on the earth, leaving a layer of golden color. In the dusk, we embarked on the return journey. 4. Li Guangxing
There are different stories in different villages, but some have been forgotten by history and become ancient stories. Some still have their vitality and are still circulated among people.
Li Guangxing is sought after by many tourists because from the yellow and green apricots, we can feel the history it carries. On the streets of Dunhuang in the summer, Li Guangxing's signature was inadvertently displayed at each stall.
As a result, piles of apricots became a scenery on the streets of Dunhuang. "Li Guangxing, buy Li Guangxing!" The vendors' voices were particularly loud, attracting tourists from out of town.
Go over, weigh it, and taste it slowly. Bite it open gently, and the light sweetness spreads. "It's really delicious", so another story was taken away by people.
Folk legend has it that Li Guangxing was brought back from Xinjiang by "Flying General" Li Guang. The story goes like this: Li Guang went on an expedition to the Western Regions and led his soldiers to march and fight in the desert. However, because there was no water source, Li Guang and his soldiers were thirsty. Just when they were at the end of the road, they suddenly saw something like a cloud. Li Guang and the soldiers ran over and saw that it was an apricot forest. They were very happy and picked some apricots to quench their thirst. Unexpectedly, these apricots were bitter and astringent, and the general was very angry. He pulled out his sword and chopped down the apricot tree. Unexpectedly, the remaining stumps grew new branches, and the apricots on them were very delicious, which solved the dilemma of the army. Later, when the army returned, General Li Guang took the apricot kernels back to Dunhuang for planting, and people called the apricots Li Guang apricots.
In fact, Li Guangxing was introduced to Dunhuang from Xinjiang in the 1920s by the villagers of Heshui Village in Yangjiaqiao, Dunhuang, and was later attached to the flying general Li Guang. The naming of Li Guangxing was not to commemorate Li Guang, but was agreed upon by the local people. They think that the apricot fruit is bright and hairless and looks like a plum, hence the name. That is to say, it is an apricot that is as bright as a plum fruit. 5. Shazhou Night Market
Actually, there is another good place in Dunhuang, which is the Shazhou Night Market. Shazhou Night Market is an ancient name. It is said that it can be traced back to the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Only after truly appreciating the charm of Shazhou Night Market can tourists truly accept Dunhuang from the bottom of their hearts and appreciate the lingering charm of Dunhuang in its prosperous Tang Dynasty.
The "Shazhou Night Market" is a large-scale trade market. The Shazhou Night Market is the most attractive place on summer nights. Strolling through the night market, large and small stalls, a wide range of products, and hospitable vendors bring you a unique feeling.
At the Shazhou Night Market, you can feel the flavor of the World Exposition, and truly appreciate the role of the Silk Road as a choke point, radiating in all directions.
The most attractive thing about Shazhou Night Market is the barbecue and apricot peel water there. The barbecue stalls are located at the outermost part of the night market, concentrated on the passageway where people come in and out. Bamboo lounge chairs are lined up one after another, with clean and large bath towels spread on them, and a long coffee table in the middle. The enthusiastic boss shouted at the roadside, the charcoal fire on the barbecue stove was burning brightly, and the aroma of mutton wafted in the air.
Of course tourists who have been away for a day cannot resist this temptation. Choose a chair and sit down, get a large glass of ice-cold apricot peel water, order dozens of skewers of roasted lamb, chat and eat barbecued meat in the gentle breeze, what a joy it is! So, the talk about the world began, I was happy to replace the iced apricot skin water with beer, and a night in Shazhou in the prosperous Tang Dynasty began.
It is late at night, the weather is getting colder, and people who have had enough rest will visit the Shazhou Night Market and buy some small gifts for their friends to take back. This is how the trip to Dunhuang ends.