Dunhuang faces the majestic Qilian Mountains in the south, the vast Lop Nur wasteland in the west, the rugged Beisai Mountain in the north and the Sanwei Mountain in the east. In this small natural basin surrounded by mountains, talented people come forth in large numbers. In Chen Yunhe's poem Dunhuang, he wrote: "A wall of famous paintings, with world-famous evaluation, welcomes the world culture of the former Qin Dynasty in the form of poetry acceptance in Dunhuang ..." The beautiful Dunhuang is a rich, magical and charming land.
Mogao Grottoes
Also known as "Thousand Buddha Cave", it is located at the foot of Mingsha Mountain, 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang County, and is named after it is located in Mogao Town. It is the largest and most famous Buddhist art grottoes in China. It is distributed in three or four layers on the cliff of Mingsha Mountain, with a total length of 1600 meters. There are 492 existing grottoes, with a total area of 45,000 square meters of murals and 24 15 clay sculptures, which are the largest and most abundant Buddhist art shrines in the world. Grottoes vary in size, statues vary in height, the big ones are magnificent, the small ones are exquisite, the accomplishments are deep and the imagination is amazing. 1987 is listed as a world cultural heritage by UNESCO. It is one of the four largest grottoes in China.
Mingsha
Mingsha Mountain is located seven kilometers south of Dunhuang City. It was called Shensha Mountain and Shajiao Mountain in ancient times. Mingsha Mountain is named after the sound of sand. It was called "Shajiao Mountain" and "Shensha Mountain" in ancient times. The mountain is made of quicksand, which is about 40km long from east to west and 20km wide from north to south, with the highest elevation of1715m. Its mountain is adjacent to the sand ridge, and its peak is like a blade. From a distance, it looks like a dragon winding into a dragon, and it looks like waves in the sea, which is very spectacular. The sand is pink, yellow, green, white and black, glittering and translucent, without a trace of dust. When it encounters friction and vibration, it will make a sound, as light as a bamboo pole and as heavy as thunder. Therefore, "Shaling Qingming" is one of the "eight scenic spots" in Dunhuang. There is a layer of wet sand under the sand dune. The wind blows sand, and the sound can cause the sand layer to resonate, hence the name. According to historical records, when the weather is clear, even if the wind stops and the sand is quiet, it will sound like playing music, so the "clear sound on the sand ridge" is a scene in Dunhuang. This is a kind of wonder in natural phenomena, which has been called "desert wonder" since ancient times and is known as "one of the scenic spots beyond the Great Wall".
Crescent spring
Crescent Spring Crescent Spring surrounds Mingsha Mountain. It is about150m long and 50m wide. It is named because the water is like a crescent moon. The source of Crescent Moon Spring is Danghe River. With the continuous filling of the river, surrounded by yellow sand, the spring water is clear and beautiful, and it is amazing that it will not dry up for thousands of years. At the foot of Mingsha Mountain, there are many kinds of medicinal materials such as Apocynum venetum and Lycium barbarum in the scenic spot, which has been one of the "Eight Scenes of Dunhuang" since the Han Dynasty, hence the name "Yue Quan Che Xiao". The crescent spring is nearly 100 meters long from north to south and about 25 meters wide from east to west. The spring is deep in the east and shallow in the west, with the deepest point of about 5 meters. Bending like a crescent moon, hence the name, it is called "the first spring in the desert". There are four unique features of the crescent spring: the crescent shape remains the same, the land of evil environment flows into a spring, the sand mountain does not soak in sand, and the old fish in the ancient pond is not old. Evening and dusk are the best places to visit Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring. The three treasures of Crescent Spring are also called Dunhuang Three Treasures: iron-backed fish, five-colored sand and seven-star grass. It is said that eating iron-backed fish and seven-star grass can prolong life and prevent all diseases from attacking! Apocynum venetum on the south bank of Crescent Spring is a unique Chinese herbal medicine for health care, and it also has the effect of delaying aging. Every June, July and August, small flowers bloom like stars at night. According to the older generation, the unique barracuda in Dunhuang may be the iron-backed fish, and Apocynum venetum on the south bank of Crescent Spring is the legendary seven-star grass! Dunhuang apocynum comprehensive development center is located in Yueyaquan town, and has been devoted to the development of Dunhuang apocynum for many years. Dunhuang apocynum tea and Dunhuang series health tea and Dunhuang apocynum home textiles are famous and popular in all directions.
bai longdui
Ya Dan Landform Dunhuang Ya Dan Landform (Dunhuang Ya Dan National Geopark) is located 200km west of Dunhuang, with a distribution area of10km long and10km wide. The mound is tall, mostly10 ~ 20m long and 200 ~ 300m long. Place names, also known as Sanlongsha, first appeared in the Han Dynasty, located outside the ancient Yumenguan Gate, where the northern line of the Silk Road passed. Sandong Shayadan landform is perpendicular to the prevailing northwest wind direction, but consistent with the flow direction of mountain torrents, forming the second largest scenic spot in Dunhuang with Yumenguan. Because of its peculiar characteristics, there is a ghost town.
Huang Du ancient city ruins
The ancient city of Dunhuang is located in the desert Gobi on the south side of Dunhuang-Yangguan Expressway, 25 kilometers away from the city center. 1987 Dunhuang, a large-scale historical feature film co-produced by China and Japan, is based on the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival in Song Dynasty, and is designed and built in imitation of the ancient city of Shazhou, with a construction area of 65,438+10,000 square meters. The architectural style of Dunhuang ancient city has a strong western customs, with three gates in the east, west and south, and towering towers; The city consists of five main streets: Gaochang, Dunhuang, Ganzhou, Xingqing and Bianliang, with Buddhist temples, pawn shops, warehouses, restaurants and houses on both sides. The ancient city of Dunhuang reproduces the majestic posture of Dunhuang, an important town in the northwest during the Tang and Song Dynasties. It is known as the architectural art museum in the west of China, and has the unique advantage of shooting military films in the ancient western frontier. Now it has become the largest film and television shooting base in western China, where it has been filmed successively.
Yumen Pass
Yumenguan, also known as Xiaofang Town, was built around11year BC. It is the main throat of the Silk Road leading to the North Road of the Western Regions, located on the Gobi Desert, 90 kilometers northwest of Dunhuang City. Guancheng is square. The loess barrier is10m high, 3m wide at the top and 5m wide at the bottom. The wall is well preserved, with a length of 24m from east to west and a width of 26.4m from north to south, covering an area of 633m2, with one in the northwest. Hala Lake is about 0/00 meter north of the city/KLOC-.The lake is brackish with large reeds. The small castle stands on the desolate Gobi desert, and the Hata Lake at the foot connects the ancient channel of Shule River 2000 years ago. The water was crowded with ships carrying grain soldiers, and the Shang monks who came from the desert Gobi were here for entry inspection before they entered the Central Plains.
1907, adventurer, archaeologist and smuggler Stein excavated many Han bamboo slips in the ruins not far from Guancheng, and determined Xiaofangcheng as the location of Yumenguan from the bamboo slips. According to historical records, the location of Yumenguan should be nearby, but Xiaofangcheng, as the westernmost gate of the Han Dynasty, is too small, only 600 square meters.
Yangguan
Yangguan is located in Yangguan Town, 70 kilometers southwest of Dunhuang City, which opened up Hexi for Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. It is one of the second biographies of "four counties are listed". Since ancient times, the Silk Road has been the only way out of Dunhuang in the west and the gateway to the western border. Wang Wei, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, "Weicheng is light and dusty in rainy city, and the guest house is green and willow." Advise you to make another glass of wine. There is no reason for people to go out to Xiyangguan and make Yangguan famous forever.
Yangguan was built in the fourth year of the Han and Yuan Dynasties (before 107), and once set up a captain to manage military affairs. From the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, it has always been the only way for the Southern Silk Road. Due to its long history, there are few remains of Guancheng beacon tower. According to Yuanhe County Records, it is located in Yangguan, 60 miles west of Shou Chang County. In order to live south of Yumenguan, it is called Yangguan. This Han Dynasty is also in the south of Weihe River, and Shanshan and shache in the west are interesting. The late Wei Dynasty tried to locate Yangguan County here. Manuscripts of Dunhuang Stone Chambers Collected in Paris (Geography of Shazhou) (page 5034) contains: Yangguan, 20 steps from east to west, 27 steps from north to south. On the right is ten miles west of the county seat (Shou Chang). Now it has been destroyed and the base has been preserved. West to Shicheng, Yutian and other south roads. Yumenguan south, date: "Yangguan" (note: the ancients took Shannan as the sun). It can be seen that Yangguan Pass was destroyed in the Tang Dynasty, leaving only the base address. The Gushou Great Wall is near Gongbei Village, Yangguan Town, Dunhuang City, and Yangguan is 6 miles west of the Shoucheng Great Wall, that is, 10, which refers to the approximate number. According to experts' research, the former site of Yangguan is in the quicksand zone opposite the' ancient wind beach' in the west of Yangguan Town today.
75 kilometers southwest of Dunhuang, you can reach the former site of Yangguan: "Antique Beach". When visiting this place on 1943, Xiangda wrote: "There is a place name antique beach in the northwest corner of Nanhu Lake, where quicksand is choking, banlou remains and pottery pieces are everywhere, and jade, pottery pieces, ancient coins and other ancient artifacts belong to it. Their era has been from the Han Dynasty to the Tang and Song Dynasties, and the antique beach remains are lingering from the north to the north of Nanhu. 1972, the cultural relics investigation team in Jiuquan area found a large number of wall-building sites behind the sand canal west of Antique Road 14. After trial excavation and measurement, the houses are arranged neatly and clearly, with an area of 10000 square meters, and there is still a generous castle wall foundation nearby. The former site of Yangguan should be here.
In ancient times, there was a 70-kilometer Great Wall connecting Yangguan and Yumenguan, and there were beacon towers every few tens of miles. There are more than a dozen beacon towers near Yangguan. Especially on the pier top on the north side of the antique beach, the beacon tower known as "the eyes and ears of Yangguan" is the largest, with the highest terrain and relatively complete preservation.
Why did Yangguan ancient fort build in this desert? Archaeologists found that Yangguan occupied the dangerous terrain of "one person guarding it, ten thousand people can't open it". In ancient times, there were abundant water sources nearby. Wowachi and Xitugou are the largest independent water sources. At least three or four thousand years ago, it became an oasis basin with a developed ditch burning culture. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, Sergeant Yangguan lived on this water. The communication between the west and the soil often dries up in the upper reaches, and springs in the lower reaches converge into streams, which flow northward, and sometimes flash floods occur. After the flood peak, the two sides of the gully collapsed one after another, the riverbed widened, and a large amount of sediment flowed down the river and deposited downstream. Sediment was carried around by the northwest wind, forming sand ridges, and the ancient city of Yangguan was gradually buried by water and sand.
Visitors to the Silk Road must go to Dunhuang, and those who go to Dunhuang must go to Yangguan. There are not many beautiful historical sites. The key is to mourn history and continue to mourn history in the imaginary space. There are South Lake Wowa Pool, Yangguan Museum, Grape Gallery and Yemawan Base of Dunhuang Apocynum venetum Comprehensive Development Center near Yangguan, which has a unique style and can visit local folk customs.
Devil City
"Ya Dan" in ghost town is Uighur, which means a hill with steep walls. Geologically, Ya Dan landform refers to a landscape composed of a series of parallel ridges and grooves after long-term wind erosion. The newly discovered landform of Ya Dan covers an area of about 400 square kilometers. It took about 700,000 to 300,000 years to form. When the strong wind blows, it will make all kinds of strange sounds, so it is also called "Dunhuang Ya Dan Ghost Town". There is no grass and trees here, but there are black sand seas and yellow clay sculptures everywhere, and all kinds of shapes are vivid under the blue sky. In the past, due to the vastness of Gobi and the dangers of roads, few people set foot here, and Dunhuang people were listening to people, but few people saw them. The completion of Yumenguan of Dunhuang Sunshine Tourism Group and Ya Dan Ghost Town Highway has created conditions for the emergence of this geographical wonder.
Sanweishan
Sanweishan Dunhuang Sanweishan Tourist Area is located 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City. It is close to the Mogao Grottoes and Buddhism and reflects each other, forming a tourist landscape featuring Buddhist culture on the Silk Road. Sanwei Mountain stretches for dozens of miles from east to west, and the main peak faces Mingsha Mountain across the Daquan River. Its "three peaks stand tall, and if it is dangerous, it will be dangerous." Sanwei Mountain is a famous mountain in Dunhuang history and the birthplace of Dunhuang civilization history. According to Shan Hai Jing, Sanwei Mountain is the place where Sanqing birds live. In ancient myths and legends, Sanqingniao is a boy who feeds on the mythical queen mother, putting a mysterious veil on Sanwei Mountain. According to Zuo Zhuan and historical records, the Sanqing tribe, which originally lived between Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake, was defeated in the tribal war at that time. According to historical research, Sanqingyuan was a nation with birds and dragons as its totem. The so-called Sanqing Bird lived here, that is, people with three bird totems in the south were exiled here, and Sanmiao people moved to Sanwei Mountain, becoming the earliest Dunhuang residents since written records in history, thus opening the first page of Dunhuang's splendid history.
In ancient times, Sanwei Mountain was also called Beiyu Mountain and Shenyu Mountain. From the perspective of Dunhuang Oasis, Sanwei Mountain is revered by three hidden peaks, hence the name Sanwei Mountain. Sanwei Mountain is a sacred mountain, which contains the Mogao Grottoes, a treasure house of world culture and art. The local people naturally regard this mountain as a sacred mountain, and have built many ancient buildings, such as Imperial Temple Coffin, Wang Mu Palace, Guanyin Well, Laojun Hall, Nantianmen and so on, which remain to this day. Standing in front of Wang Mu Palace, the peak of Sanwei Mountain, overlooking the Mogao Grottoes and the whole Dunhuang Oasis, Dunhuang called Sanwei Mountain the first mountain in Dunhuang. Among the eight scenic spots in Dunhuang in the Qing Dynasty, Sanwei Mountain was listed as the first scene in Dunhuang, and it was called "the East Scenery of Dangerous Peak".
Sanwei Mountain and Mogao Grottoes are adjacent to each other across the Daquan River. Mogao Grottoes were built because of the Buddha's light of Sanwei Mountain. The inscription on the Mogao Grottoes records: "In the second year of Qin Jianyuan (366), there was a shaman who was fond of restraint and tried to learn the forest field, ending in this mountain. Suddenly he saw the golden light, which looked like a thousand buddhas. It can be seen that the Buddha's light in the three dangers is the driving force for digging the Mogao Grottoes. It can also be said that the mountain in the three dangers is the cradle of the Mogao Grottoes, so there are the second "Eight Scenes of Dunhuang" and "Thousand Buddha Rocks". The mountains in the three dangers are inseparable from the Mogao Grottoes like brothers. If the Mogao grottoes are a treasure house of Buddhist art, then the three-dimensional mountain is a famous mountain of Buddhist art.
Dunhuang Sun Tourism Group and An Company jointly built the "Three Dangers Holy Land", and built a number of scenic spots such as the second largest bronze Buddha concert hall in China, guanyin temple, Wang Mu Palace, Longwang Temple and Dacheng Hall, which were praised as "Buddhist Holy Land" by the world famous artist hirayama ikuo. Lezun Hall was built in memory of the founder of Mogao Grottoes, Lezun Monk. It is located on Sanxing Mountain, opposite the Mogao Grottoes, with icons excavated from the Mogao Grottoes and historical maps of excavated caves. Kannonji Kannonji was built on the north slope next to Guanyin well. It is a peak-style imitation Song building, with a length of about 235,000 square meters from north to south, and it contains portraits and murals of Guanyin Well. The Great Bronze Buddha is the main landscape of the three-dimensional mountain scenic area, facing the Mogao Grottoes from east to west, with a height of 36.6 meters. It commemorates the excavation of the Mogao Grottoes in 266 and is the second largest bronze Buddha in China.
In addition, there are Dacheng Hall, Longwang Temple and Mountain Temple dedicated to China's cultural sage Confucius. These buildings correspond to the Sanwei Mountain Pairs, providing places for tourists to cultivate their minds and cultivate their health. Cisi Pagoda, built near Laojuntang in the early Northern Song Dynasty, is the oldest existing wooden pagoda in China, which has special value in the architectural history of China.
Sanwei Mountain is the first holy place in Dunhuang, and it is listed as the first of the eight scenic spots in Dunhuang in local chronicles, and it is called "the dangerous peak moves eastward". The development and construction of the Three Risks Holy Land, especially the opening of the Three Risks Great Bronze Buddha, enables tourists to drink Guanyin well water after visiting the Mogao Grottoes, taste Dunhuang tea, and then come to the Guanyin Hall of the Great Bronze Buddha to burn incense and worship Buddha, which can greatly satisfy the wishes of monks and nuns.
Among them, "the relics of the two passes, the spirit rock of a thousand buddhas, the eastern scenery of dangerous peaks, the northern flow of Dangshui, Che Xiao, Yue Quan, the night view of the ancient city, the spring ploughing of embroidered soil and the singing of Shaling" are called "the Eight Scenes of Dunhuang".
It is the best time to travel in Dunhuang from May to 10 every year. Dunhuang goes deep inland, is blocked by high mountains, and is far away from the humid ocean airflow. It has an extremely dry continental climate, with an annual average temperature of 9.3℃, an average temperature of 24.7℃ in July and an average temperature of 9.3℃ in 1 month. It is dry and rainy all year round, and the temperature difference between day and night is large. Every spring and summer, there are two kinds of natural disasters here: sandstorm and dry-hot wind. If you go at this time, you should take preventive measures as soon as possible, such as preparing hats, headscarves and masks.
Off-season tourism
The biggest advantage of visiting Dunhuang in the off-season is to save money. At this time, the ticket prices of all scenic spots in Dunhuang (except Yangguan Museum) are halved, and the entertainment items in the scenic spots can also be bargained, which is absolutely impossible in the peak season. However, it is difficult to shop in Dunhuang in the off-season. Not only are stalls almost extinct, but even some larger stores are closed. In addition, some special routes of scenic spots (such as the green leather bus to Mogao Grottoes) will be out of service, so you can only choose chartered buses.