Dunhuang Oasis is an oasis on China's ancient Silk Road, located in the northwest of China, where the Gobi desert and the eastern edge of the Taklamakan desert region meet in Gansu province.
Dunhuang is considered the largest tourist center in northwest China. The city's many attractions and surroundings, especially the famous Mogao cave complex, attract thousands of tourists every year.
One of the most popular tourist attractions, located near the town on the border of the Gobi desert, is Dunhuang oasis famous for its singing sands and a crescent-shaped lake, within the oasis is a temple beautiful from the 18th century.
Where is Dunhuang Oasis located?
If you visited Dunhuang more than two thousand years ago, you would have witnessed a flourishing city of merchants, pilgrims and soldiers. It is also home to monks who migrated from all over Asia and as far as Europe. Dunhuang was once a major stop on the ancient Silk Road, founded in an oasis at the crossroads of the Southern Silk Road and the main route from India through Tibet and Mongolia to the South. Siberia.
Sunset at Dunhuang Oasis
The original city of Dunhuang existed during the Golden Age of the Silk Road. Located to the east of Jiayuguan and the last outpost during the Ming dynasty, it created a basic intersection between the northern and southern route on the Silk Road. Dunhuang was an important trading post until 1272 when the city was conquered and destroyed by the Mongols. West of Dunhuang is another important stop along the historic Silk Road - Turpan, which is also home to a number of ancient but lesser known Buddhist Caves.
Crescent Lake is located six kilometers south of the city.
Dunhuang continued to thrive in 2016 as one of the most popular destinations in Western China for foreign tourists. It is now an important tourist destination with 10 million visitors visiting its most famous attractions: Crescent Lake, Mogao Caves, Yardang Geopark and a desert with distant sand dunes eyesight. In winter, the temperature drops to -25°C and the dunes freeze with snow-covered peaks.
When visiting this western region, you can take a trip to the legendary desert oasis “Crescent Lake”, go to the Kumtang Desert on a short day trip, or longer trips that require sleep in the desert or visit a UNESCO World Heritage Site at Mogao Cave also known as Dunhuang Cave.
Mogao Cave is also known as Dunhuang Cave. @hichinatravel
One of the tourist attractions in Dunhuang is the Crescent Lake Oasis and it is not always possible to see a real desert oasis, which is said to have been around for 2,000 years.
Crescent Lake Oasis is another name for Dunhuang Oasis @china_tales
What's attractive about Dunhuang oasis?
Singing Sand Mountain, so attractively called by the Chinese but is actually a giant sand dune, with the highest point reaching up to 1000 meters. It is said that standing at the top can hear the sound of the flute, even the thunder, especially if climbing on a crowded day. The phenomenon of singing sand has not been fully investigated; so to say exactly what causes this effect is not possible.
Singing Sand Mountain is one of the most visited destinations in Dunhuang Oasis
However, the inhabitants of Dunhuang have their own legend about the origin of the singing sands, which are directly connected to the famous crescent-shaped lake in the Dunhuang oasis. This lake is located in the center of the dune with its small size and perfect form that makes you think of the man-made origin of the place that is really impossible in the Gobi desert environment. And to this day, it remains a mystery how sand did not overwhelm this small oasis in the middle of the desert over the course of hundreds of years.
The semicircular lake at the foot of the giant sand dunes in Dunhuang oasis @Diamond_Tour
At the foot of the giant sand dunes at Dunhuang Oasis is a famous pond, Crescent Lake. The dunes are fun for tourists with dune buggies, 'dune surfing', paragliding, microlighting and helicopter flights. But you can also walk to enjoy the sandy scene in peace. The sand dunes look most photogenic in the early morning or at dusk.
The sand dunes look most photogenic in the early morning or at dusk.
As the name suggests, this crescent-shaped lake is shaped like a crescent moon surrounding a temple. Desert sunsets are always a magical sight, and so are sunsets at Crescent Lake. The sun sinks beneath the golden dunes of the desert, seemingly becoming huge and making for stunning photographs. Aside from enjoying the magnificent sunsets and natural beauty of the area, there isn't much to visit in Crescent Lake – the temple that surrounds the lake, although very beautiful, is just an administrative building, Inside there is very little to explore.
Inside the campus of Dunhuang oasis @internsinasia
You can cycle to Dunhuang oasis within 20 minutes from central Dunhuang. Bus 3 shuttles between Shazhou Lu and Mingshan Lu and the dunes from 7:30am to 9:00pm. A taxi costs 20 yuan one way.
Sparkling oasis in the vast desert @asiamysterious
Legend has it that, right here, Taoist thinkers and philosophers built a magnificent palace with a crescent-shaped lake beyond the control of the desert sands. But soon after a natural disaster, the palace was completely buried in the heart of a giant sand dune, and today, only singing sands and unusual lakes remind of the greatness of the world. Its past…
