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Best Things to Do
Top 14 Best Things to Do in Dunhuang [2025]
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Mingsha Mountain And Crescent Spring
4.6
/5
24109 reviews
8.9
From £1.03
Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring | 6.1 km from downtown
Phone 0937-8883388
Address: 6 km south of Dunhuang City, Jiuquan City
Recommended sightseeing time: 3-5 hours
Featured in 2025 Asia 100 – Best Things to Do
Highlights:
Sand dunes and springs: A desert oasis
Desert dunes & spring coexistence
Saved by 580 users18046 positive reviews
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The transportation is convenient and the scenery is pleasant. You can choose to ride a camel, take an electric car, walk and climb the mountain, etc. You can take pictures of the sunrise or sunset, there are concerts with 10,000 people, and drone performances. The highlight is that there is a free bus to the city center when the show ends, which is not possible in other places.
During the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop Tour, our tour leader, Master Ma, was experienced, skilled, familiar with the roads and scenic spots, and provided thoughtful and careful service. The whole trip was very pleasant. It gave us a new understanding of the Northwest.
Our butler also gave very detailed guidance throughout the process, and the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop Tour was successfully completed.
Overall five-star praise!
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Mogao Caves
4.4
/5
9844 reviews
8.3
16.7 km from downtown
Phone 400-833-3715
Address: Yangguan Avenue, Dunhuang City, Jiuquan City, Gansu Province
Recommended sightseeing time: 3-4 hours
Featured in 2025 Asia 100 – Best Things to Do
Highlights:
Guided tour of select grottoes
Watch two 20-minute Mogao films
Saved by 420 users5446 positive reviews
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We watched it last time, and this time I invited my parents to watch it. Mogao Grottoes is a place that my parents have always wanted to visit. I strongly recommend the performance. Seeing Dunhuang again is completely different from the traditional performances. It feels like you are in the real world. It is worth the money! !
Very convenient. The arrangement is reasonable. When the time comes, the staff will contact me specifically, and the staff will wait for us at the performance. At this price, I really recommend it.
Encore Dunhuang
4.3
/5
2793 reviews
7.5
From £32.53
Dunhuang Airport/Dunhuang Railway Station | 8.9 km from downtown
Phone 400-1829-777
Address: West side of the digital center of Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang City, Jiuquan City
Recommended sightseeing time: 1.5 hours
Highlights:
Desert theater near Mogao Caves
Silk Road stories at Mogao Caves
2145 positive reviews10K views in last month
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We visited Mogao Grottoes during the day and went to see Dunhuang Again at night!
There are 3 performances in Dunhuang. I took my mother to choose the more historical Dunhuang Again. It was still very shocking. As soon as I entered, an actor gave a general introduction to the historical development of Mogao Grottoes, and then walked and watched. The most shocking thing was the flying fairy on the wall. Both the music and the actors were very good!
There are a lot of actors and the soundtrack is nice. It is a very sincere and worth-watching performance!
The weather was very hot, and the performance was an immersive experience. First, all the actors were introduced, and then the story. The most impressive thing was that I was always there for the Bodhisattva. . I felt the helplessness of history. There is no doubt that the archaeology of Dunhuang is sacred. Those who have been there are unmoved by this great regret.
No.
4
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Yangguan Pass Relic tourism District
4.5
/5
2458 reviews
7.2
From £5.12
Based on 59 reviews
56.4 km from downtown
Phone 0937-8833089
Address: Yangguan Scenic Spot, Yangguan Town, Dunhuang City, Jiuquan City
Recommended sightseeing time: 2-3 hours
No.1 of Family-Friendly Attractions in Dunhuang
Highlights:
Gobi views & distant mountains
Spectacular ancient beacon tower ruins
1520 positive reviews10K views in last month
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Yangguan Scenic Area is relatively small. I asked for an explanation. I more deeply understood the historical significance of Yangguan. The explanation lady was very responsible. I also experienced the donkey car. It was a little bumpy. Finally, I walked to Sunshine Avenue and the experience was good.
Yangguan Guancheng no longer exists, only a campfire platform remains. But the museum is worth a visit. The scenery at the Yangguan ruins is magnificent, and the plank road is worth walking to experience the feeling of being out of Yangguan in the west.
No.
5
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Site of Yumen Pass
4.4
/5
2082 reviews
7.2
Based on 117 reviews
68.7 km from downtown
Phone 0937-8821984
Address: Dunhuang City, Jiuquan City, Gansu
Recommended sightseeing time: 1-2 hours
Highlights:
Hara Lake's reed spectacle
Gobi's Hala Lake & reeds
1043 positive reviewsRecently viewed by 1,000+ people
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I thought it was just a Yumenguan, but I didn't expect there to be a Han Great Wall and Dafang Cang. There is a scenic bus. A scenic spot takes about 30 minutes to take pictures. It is enough to prevent floods.
Yumenguan has a museum, a large and small city, and four locations of the Great Wall of Han. The first stop from the museum is the Great Wall of Han. It is really shocking. The second stop is the granary. Now you can see the basic structure of the granary. The last stop is the jade gate.
No.
6
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Dahaidao
4.7
/5
694 reviews
7.1
From £4.61
>100 km from downtown
Phone 0902-6581888
Address: Qijiajing Town, Yizhou District, Hami City, Uygur Autonomous Region
Recommended sightseeing time: 3-5 hours
Highlights:
Stargazing feels like a secret
Fossil mirage & wild camels
627 positive reviewsRecently viewed by 1,000+ people
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It is worth experiencing from the east gate to the north gate. I drove Xinjiang from Hefei with my son alone. It was about 18:40. I went in at night to camp in Tongtiandong. The next morning, I left at 8:50 and walked the clothes board at about 11 o'clock. The car had to keep 500 kilometers of life. It was especially fuel-intensive. I went in with 790 and 260 came out. I turned on the air conditioner for 3 hours at night.
Very worth going! Be sure to drive an off-road vehicle. The scenery is magnificent and shocking. The scenic spot is relatively sun-dried and very hot. Be sure to do a good job of sun protection and heat prevention. I brought a carry of water and some fruits. Remember to take the garbage away.
No.
7
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Dunhuang Museum
4.7
/5
1033 reviews
7.1
Based on 90 reviews
Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring | 1.4 km from downtown
Phone 0937-8818173
Address: 1390 Mingshan North Road, Dunhuang City, Jiuquan City
Recommended sightseeing time: 1.5-2 hours
No.2 of Family-Friendly Attractions in Dunhuang
Highlights:
Next to Mogao Caves Heritage
Experience ancient painting techniques firsthand
795 positive reviewsRecently viewed by 1,000+ people
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It is worth going. For me who has only a limited understanding of Dunhuang history, it is very necessary to ask a professional teacher to explain. The teacher who explained to us today was Liu Xiaoying, who was knowledgeable and her explanation style was patient and persuasive. It was a very good experience. Highly recommended.
The first stop in Dunhuang was to visit the museum. There were too many people and it was hard to squeeze in. However, the cultural relics on display in the museum are rich and precious, from colored sculptures, mural replicas to Silk Road antiquities, each of which carries the weight of history. You can experience VR and intuitively feel the unique charm of Dunhuang culture. In summary, the Dunhuang Museum is worth a visit whether you are interested in history or want to learn more about Dunhuang!
No.
8
Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark
4.5
/5
2699 reviews
7.1
From £7.98
>100 km from downtown
Phone 0937-5900110
Address: About 180 kilometers northwest of Dunhuang City, Jiuquan City
Recommended sightseeing time: 2-3 hours
Highlights:
Stunning Yardang views & perspectives
Wind-eroded formations & ship-like hills
Saved by 107 users1298 positive reviews
Verified User Reviews
This area is very desolate. When you arrive at Yadan Geopark, the road ends here. Although Ruoqi County is next door, you must return to Dunhuang in the past. Tickets are 50, Jingjiao car is 70. About six or seven visiting points stay for5-20 minutes. The whole journey is about two hours.
After the ticket was checked, I took the bus and parked seven or eight attractions, each of which stopped for 10 to 20 minutes. The weather was hot at noon, and almost no one got off the bus at the last two or three attractions. The scenery is still very shocking. The entrance to Luobo's unmanned area is adjacent to Xinjiang.
No.
9
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Ancient Sound of Dunhuang
4.7
/5
286 reviews
6.6
From £30.48
Dunhuang Airport/Dunhuang Railway Station | 8.6 km from downtown
Phone 400-6666-272
Address: 甘肃省酒泉市敦煌市阳关东路7970号
Recommended sightseeing time: 1-1.5 hours
No.2 of Night Attractions in Dunhuang
Highlights:
Cave show: Dunhuang music culture
Dunhuang shows year-round
263 positive reviewsRecently viewed by 1,000+ people
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It felt pretty good, except that there were too many people in the interactive free mode at the beginning, which made people feel a little overwhelmed and affected the viewing experience a little. But it became much better after we took our seats.
Weekend tour of Niuma surrounding area☞One glance and a thousand years❗️"Dunhuang" is really shocking❗️
Work is on hold! Gansu weekend tour is arranged! Family, you must play like this when you come to Dunhuang❗️Mogao Grottoes during the day and Dunhuang in the evening, directly unlock the "static history + dynamic immersion" double buff, the experience is so full that I want to recommend it to everyone!
"Dunhuang in the world is the first cave-style immersive experience drama. The whole theater is like a "living" Cave 736. Once you enter, it's like traveling to ancient Dunhuang. It is really a close-up experience of Dunhuang's artistic charm!
✅ King bomb combination itinerary
Daytime→Mogao Grottoes
See the static caves and touch the thousands of years of historical sedimentation;
Evening→Dunhuang in the evening (only a 5-minute walk from the Mogao Grottoes Digital Display Center) and the moment of shaking hands with the angry King Kong
See the "living murals", the four core NPCs directly bring the murals to life! You can also interact with NPCs, which is a great experience~
Angry Vajra - borrowed from Cave 206 of Mogao Grottoes
Musician - borrowed from Caves 220, 249, 251 of Mogao Grottoes
Beauty Bodhisattva - borrowed from Cave 57 of Mogao Grottoes
Garuda - borrowed from Cave 172 of Mogao Grottoes
✅ Must-visit highlights:
• Performance + NPC interaction - follow the plot, as if jumping into the world of murals, and shaking hands with the angry Vajra instantly explode the sense of interaction💥
• Shangyuan Market + Yaji - all the satisfaction of shopping, eating and playing, culture + fireworks are both grasped~
🎫tips:
1️⃣ Buy tickets in advance from official channels, remember to check the show in advance. You can directly buy the Dunhuang Resident Package (2 regular tickets + 2 Dunhuang Resident Gift Packs + 1 night hotel), which saves time and trouble;
2️⃣ If you want to have a good experience, enter 30 minutes in advance;
✔️Area A is a marching viewing, and you will move with the actors after the opening;
✔️B1.B2 areas can see the very popular angry King Kong, you can rush to the front to shake hands;
✔️C area is a sitting area, it is recommended to sit in the aisle, maybe you can squat to interact with the actors;
3️⃣ You can rent a set of Dunhuang characteristic ancient costumes at the Shangyuan Yaji outside. It is very atmospheric to wear to watch the show, and it is also very good to take pictures.
Finally, after watching this performance, I finally understand why Dunhuang can become a world cultural heritage. When the thousand-year-old ancient music sounded in my ears, when the flying fairy danced from the murals, the cultural shock was indescribable in any words.
No.
10
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Dunhuang Silk Road Heritage City
4.1
/5
35 reviews
5.9
From £61.16
17.9 km from downtown
Phone 13326632868
Address: 甘肃省酒泉市敦煌市丝路遗产城
Recommended sightseeing time: 1-2 hours
No.3 of Family-Friendly Attractions in Dunhuang
Highlights:
Iconic landmarks' replicas collection
Dunhuang sunrise & sunset views
61% positive reviewsRecently viewed by 1,000+ people
Verified User Reviews
The starry sky here is so magical and beautiful! It's best to stay in the Starry Sky Hotel inside, where you can have dinner in the evening and quietly see the starry sky. The hotel includes tickets to the Silk Road Heritage City Scenic Area and pick-up, which is a great deal! The meal is not expensive, the boss is nice, and he also lends mobile phone holders, clothes, and electric cars for taking pictures, which makes it much more convenient to take pictures of the starry sky at night!
How can I say it? Taking photos and checking in, shooting the starry sky are all very good. In sunny weather, there is no light pollution and the photos are especially good. You can also stay in our starry sky hotel. Staying in the hotel also includes two tickets to the scenic spot. Highly recommended
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