Dunhuang 敦煌 surely has to be one of the most picturesque towns on the Silk Road. Probably anyone with an pocket automatic camera will be able to take an impressive photo as the scenery simply doesn't permit failure. Dunhuang is of course famous because of its Mogao Cave grottoes (莫高窟) but more about these grottoes (and the nearby Yulin Cave grottoes (榆林窟)) tomorrow.
Today, it's about Dunhuang as a study in contrasts with lush vineyards, stark desert rock formations, clear mountain springs and soft undulating sands.
In addition to the Mogao Cave grottoes, the second most famous sight in Dunhuang is the Mingsha sand dunes and the Crescent Spring 月牙泉, a crescent moon-shaped lake which nestles within the sand dune mountains and takes its waters from the snow-capped Qilian mountains. This is the scene of many a Chinese movie (I think Michelle Yeoh's Indiana Jones attempt "The Touch" was also partly set in the Crescent Spring). Yes, the whole setting is a tad like a movie set but still there's something magical about it during sunset and especially as the Spring is shrinking and apparently doomed to disappear.
The principal activity offered by the Mingsha mountain sand dunes (鸣沙山) is a camel ride along the sand dunes. Touristy I know, but when in Rome... I must confess I approached the prospect of a camel ride with some trepidation. The first two camel experiences in Egypt and Jordan were abysmal and I thought the camels there must have been intentionally trying to jerk me off at every turn and heave. Well, I'm happy to report that the camels in China are much more docile and I actually had a pleasant gently rocking journey (pleasant - except for the non-stop yakking of the Henan tourist who was on the camel before me).
This morning was another early wake-up call for a two and a half hour car journey to see the Yardan 牙丹 rock formations at the geological park. Yardan is the name of the rock formation which we were told was created hundreds of thousands of years ago. In the past, people used to think that the rock formations were remnants of a ghost city. Now, it's all hardnosed commerce complete with numbered buses to ferry tourists around the rock formations and uniformed guides pointing out the more significant formations which have all been given names, eg Peacock, Sphinx, Lion Greeting the Guests (very chinese). So much for the solitude and stark elegance that I had been expecting. I amused myself in the hot and jam-packed bus with observing the more fanciful outfits of my fellow passengers (mostly domestic Chinese tourists). Check out the photos of Chinese tourists stiking a pose in fashion faux pas outfits in the desert.
The afternoon was spent visiting Yumenguan 玉门关 (in the north of the Hexi corridor) and Yangguan 阳关 (south). These, together with Jiayuguan, are the three surviving western frontiers of the Great Wall (there's also bits of the Han dynasty Great Wall left in Dunhuang but they are now just stubs of reed and clay). Yumenguan and Yangguan are both Tang dynasty creations whereas Jiayuguan belongs several hundred years later in the Ming dynasty. All that is left of Yumenguan and Yangguan now are a mound of stone with little left to identify them as a former defence outpost cum Customs office. Interestingly though, what is identifiable is the ancient silk road that wound itself past the Yangguan; it is a recognisable wide sandy path that still leads towards the Taklamakan desert (Xinjiang).
I am just at the part of Thubron's book where he leaves Dunhuang. Tomorrow I will leave Dunhuang for Urumqi.
