- urbanexplorer
- qingmingtravel
An oasis in the middle of the dessert 🏝.
Like a mirage seen on a hot summer’s day, the dunes peek out from behind the high rise buildings, tempting you towards them. We spent the majority of the day exploring the stunning dessert landscape, where you can do anything from riding a camel or helicopter to paragliding and sand surfing. Or you know, just sit peacefully to enjoy the view 🧘🏻
🏝 Dunhuang is a pretty small city compared to many others in China, so to get to this beautiful oasis, you can walk (if you’re staying in a hotel nearby) or take a bus!
🏝 While the dunes are beautiful, and you could easily just spend an afternoon playing in the sand, if you want to take part in any of the on-site activities (helicopter ride, camel ride, ATV, paragliding, etc) you’ll need to pay extra.
🏝 If you’re happy to pay a higher premium for a helicopter ride, I’d thoroughly recommend it! While pricey, you get an incredible birds eye view of the lake itself.
📍Echoing Sand Mountain and Crescent Lake, Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China
#urbanexplorer#qingmingtravel
Michaela (@uncoveringcities)
26
One of the most well-known attractions in Dunhuang, you can scan the ID card on the spot after buying a ticket on Trip.com. The scenic spot is now under construction inside, and the route is a bit winding. You need to go to Crescent Spring first to go to Mingsha Mountain. It is a bit tired under the big sun.
Ma Fei tour guide is very serious and responsible. The car sent a head pillow and scarf. The classic arrangement time is very reasonable. The accommodation conditions are also very good. The group meal is very rich and has local characteristics. The taste is also very good. The driver Ye Master drives very smoothly. Let our trip be more safe. The scenery of the Northwest Great Ring Road is really good. The atmosphere of the travel agency is very good. The guide also prepared the biscuits for the seagulls and the collective Salongda activities. Let our memory of this trip become very deep. The people in the group are very good to get along with, and the overall atmosphere is very good. Among the more impressive attractions are the Emerald Lake Mogao Grottoes and Ta'er Temple Travel Agency. There is no charge for the whole process, and there is no place to consume it. It is really pure to play the travel agency. There is no need to worry about being promoted and embarrassed to withdraw. In this journey, I encountered a reasonable guide on the snow peak road. The itinerary is arranged, there is no compression of the time of the attractions, and the itinerary of all members is arranged reasonably for the individual. It is great and recommended to everyone!
In the off-season, there are not many people. The experience is great. The time problem is not riding a camel. The weather is not seen because of the stars, but the overall feeling is very good, not cold or hot. It is not easy to retain such a view at such close distance in the city.
In the off-season of the New Year, Mingsha Mountain is free of charge, but remember to make an appointment for tickets. If you don't make an appointment, you can also make an appointment on-site self-service machine, and then swipe your ID card to enter. The first time I saw the desert, it was very shocking and there was a feeling of time and space crossing. It was to ride a camel, 100 yuan per person, buy a ticket, don't wait a long time to get on the camel, we are lucky to meet a camel person who can take pictures, take pictures for an extra charge of 20 yuan per person, this is your own choice, not forced. Crescent spring is frozen, and the surrounding reeds are golden and yellow under the sun, which is very suitable for taking pictures.
Very beautiful, very open, very free, the sand is very soft and comfortable, the strangers who climbed the hillside also became comrades-in-arms and a family, everyone sang together, took pictures, encouraged each other, so unhappy and warm. Very unforgettable.
In winter, Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring is great value, the tickets are half price, and there are not many tourists. It takes a long time to ride a camel like summer. The scenery of Mingsha Mountain in winter has a special flavor. At six or seven o'clock, you can also enjoy the beautiful scenery of the sun slowly setting and the lighting of the Crescent Spring.
There are not many individual tourists in the off-season, and there are more team tourists. You can get free tickets by plane. This discount is very good. The hot air balloon is only available after May, and it depends on the weather to arrange take-off. Originally queued to ride a camel, but there were too many tourists in the team, disrupting the original queue order, waiting for a long time to make up not enough people, but unfortunately did not ride, but the impact is not big, riding a camel and climbing up the route is different, you can climb up to see the panoramic Crescent Spring. The sand top is very windy, and the sand mask is necessary, but no matter how it is, it must be full of sand, clothes, shoes, hair, and even the mouth will enter the sand. The sand in Mingsha Mountain is very delicate and feels good.
I always thought that the crescent spring had withered and was now artificially irrigation, but it seemed to be my misconception. . . The natural landscape is good, and many people rent clothes here to take pictures, especially the flying sky, which is also very beautiful. Riding camels is very fun. I saw a comment before that if you don’t take pictures of the master with the camel, you will be unhappy. It may be managed. Now there is a big sign in the place where you take pictures. If you don’t take pictures of the master, you can complain about the face. There is also a complaint phone. But I think it’s actually quite good to take a lot of photos for 20 yuan, not expensive, and the effect is not bad. Whether it’s watching the scenery, riding a camel or changing clothes to take pictures, it’s very interesting, it’s very cold at night after watching the sunset, it’s worth playing.