Location of Dunhuang
(, also written as 燉煌 until the early
Qing Dynasty; ) is a
city (pop. ~150,000) in
Jiuquan,
Gansu province,
China. It is sited in an
oasis.
Tang Period (618-907) Buddhist sutra fragment from Dunhuang
History
Dunhuang was made a prefecture in
117 BC by Emperor
Han Wudi, and was a major point of interchange between ancient China and
Central Asia during the
Han and
Tang dynasties. Located in the western end of the
Hexi Corridor near the historic junction of the
Northern and Southern
Silk Roads, it was a town of military importance. Its name is mentioned as part of the homeland of the
Yuezhi or "Rouzhi" (月氏) in the
Shiji (史記), but this mention has also been identified with an unrelated toponym,
Dunhong.
Early
Buddhist monks accessed Dunhuang via the ancient Northern Silk Road, the northernmost route of about in length, which connected the ancient Chinese capital of
Xi'an to the West over the
Wushao Ling Pass to
Wuwei and emerging in
Kashgar. For centuries
Buddhist monks at Dunhuang collected scriptures from the West, and many pilgrims passed through the area, painting murals inside the
Mogao Caves or "
Caves of a Thousand Buddhas." A small number of Christian artifacts have also been found in the caves (see
Jesus Sutras), testimony to the wide variety of people who made their way along the silk road. Today, the site is an important tourist attraction and the subject of an ongoing archaeological project. A large number of
manuscripts and
artifacts retrieved at Dunhuang have been digitized and made publicly available via the . Edges of the city are threatened with being engulfed by the expansion of the
Kumtag Desert, which is resulting from longstanding
overgrazing of surrounding lands.
Sand dunes on the edge of Dunhuang
Public art in Dunhuang
(202 BC - 220 AD) Chinese
watchtower made of
rammed earth at Dunhuang, Gansu province, the eastern edge of the
Silk Road]]
Climate
Dunhuang is landlocked, and, surrounded by high mountains, has an arid, continental climate. The annual average temperature is , but ranges from in July to in January. Dunhuang is extremely hot in summer and bitterly cold in winter. Only a marginal amount of precipitation falls, and even that is quickly dried by evaporation.
Dunhuang city centre
Dunhuang's city centre is relatively highly developed, including much commercial activity and many hotels. Bookshops and other souvenir shops sell materials relating to the
Caves and the history of the region.
The
Dunhuang County Museum contains a number of Chinese and Tibetan items such as manuscripts, paintings, coins and statues.
The
Dong Dajie night market is held in the city centre, popular with tourists. Many souvenir items are sold, including such typical items as jade, jewelry, scrolls, hangings, small sculptures, and the like. A sizable number of
members of China's ethnic minorities engage in business at these markets. A
Central Asian dessert or sweet is also sold, consisting of a large, sweet
confection made with
nuts and
dried fruit, sliced into the portion desired by the customer.
Nearby attractions
Other neighboring attractions include:
- Echoing-Sand Mountain (Mingsha Shan, 鸣沙山)
These attractions are essentially part of the same area. The lake is an oasis surrounded by high sand dunes. The Mingsha Shan is so named for the sound of the wind whipping off the dunes, the
singing sand phenomenon. The area is very popular with tourists, the great majority of them Chinese. A street lined with souvenir stalls leads up to the entrance to the complex. Most tourists ride camels, organized by the complex operators, to reach the sand dunes. Typically the camels are guided by local camel guides, who include both women and men. At the dunes, a popular activity for tourists is to ride
sleds down the sand slopes, much like
snow-
sledding during winter in temperate zones. Alongside Crescent Lake is a
pagoda in traditional
Han Chinese architecture.
Transportation
- The bus station is in the south of the city, with rides to Urumqi, Lanzhou, Xian, and Beijing. Taxis are available in the town.
- Dunhuang got its own train station on Mar. 3, 2006. Its new train station is about 2 km from the city.
Trivia
A crater on
Mars was named after the city.
The late German electronic music composer
Rüdiger Lorenz wrote a track entitled "Dunhuang" on his 1995 release "Taklamakan" (referring to the Chinese desert). The music sonically portrays the ancient nobility of the city.
