Getting Around Dunhuang
Dunhuang is a compact oasis city, but many of its headline attractions sit well outside the urban area. That single fact shapes how you move around: local buses and your own two feet work well within town, while a dedicated tourist shuttle is the practical way to reach the big sights in the surrounding desert.
On Foot in the City
The urban core is small and walkable, and several sights are close enough to reach on foot or with a short ride. The Dunhuang Night Market, with its tourist information booth inside the Dahong Gate, is an easy anchor point for an evening wander. For anything beyond the centre, though, expect to use a bus, shuttle, or taxi.
Public Buses
A public bus service operates in Dunhuang's urban area. It is useful for reaching a small number of sights, including the Dunhuang Museum and the Singing Sand Dunes & Crescent Lake Park. However, most of the major attractions lie quite far from the urban area, so the city bus network alone will not cover a full sightseeing itinerary.
The Tourist Shuttle Bus
For the major out-of-town attractions, a special tourist shuttle bus service runs two main routes:
- Eastern route — serves the Mogao Caves and the Singing Sand Dunes & Crescent Lake Park. Shuttles on this route can usually pick you up from any hotel in the city.
- Western route — normally stops at the Ancient City of Dunhuang Movie Set, Yang Pass, Yumen Pass and Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark. Note that the Yardang National Geopark has been temporarily closed, and the bus has been stopping at the Western Thousand Buddha Caves instead. Pickup on this route may only be available at select locations.
You can confirm your pickup location when you buy your ticket. Tickets can be purchased at the Dunhuang Tourist Transportation Center (on the west side of the Mogao Caves Digital Display Center), the tourist reception hall at Singing Sand Dunes & Crescent Lake Park, and at tourist information booths at the train station, the Dunhuang Hotel, the Night Market, Shazhou North Road, Mingshan Road, and the Jinshuiwan Housing Estate. The standard fare is ¥78 for either route, which covers only the bus ride — entry tickets to the attractions themselves must be bought separately.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Taxis are a straightforward option for short hops around town and for reaching the train station or airport. One caveat worth knowing in advance: there is no taxi stand at Dunhuang Airport, so arriving travellers should arrange a pickup rather than count on finding a cab on the spot.
Trains
Dunhuang Train Station sits outside the town to the northeast, close to the airport. There is also a ticket agent in town, across the street from the Dunhuang Hotel, which sells tickets for most trains — handy if you want to sort out onward travel without heading to the station first.
Be aware that Dunhuang is on a branch line. Many more trains are accessible from Liuyuan station, roughly a one- to two-hour drive away, and trains heading west to Xinjiang do not pass through Dunhuang directly. From Dunhuang you can reach places such as Guazhou, Jiayuguan, Lanzhou, Zhangye, Xining and Xi'an, though for Xi'an it is quicker to travel to Lanzhou first and pick up a Xi'an-bound train there. From Liuyuan, there are frequent services onward to Urumqi and Xi'an. Liuyuan can be reached by bus from Dunhuang Bus Station; Liuyuan Bus Station is just outside Liuyuan Train Station and a short distance from Liuyuan South Train Station. Another option is to take a high-speed train to Jiayuguan South and transfer from there.
Long-Distance Buses
Dunhuang has two bus stations diagonally across from each other. Most frequent departures leave from the main bus station rather than the long-distance one. Destinations include Golmud, Guazhou, Hami, Jiayuguan, Lanzhou, Liuyuan, Xining and Zhangye.
Getting from the Airport into the City
Dunhuang Airport (DNH) lies east of the town centre, and flights connect it with Beijing, Lanzhou, Urumqi and Xi'an. There is no taxi stand at the airport, so the most reliable approach is to arrange a hotel pickup if you can. Shuttle buses do sometimes meet arriving planes, but they can fill up, and if you are not prepared you may face a long wait — potentially around an hour — for a vehicle.