Six kilometres south of Dūnhuáng at Singing Sands Mountain, the desert meets the oasis in most spectacular fashion. From the dunes it’s easy to see how Dūnhuáng gained its moniker ‘Shāzhōu’ (Town of Sand). The view across the undulating desert sands and green poplar trees below is awesome.
You can bike to the dunes in 20 minutes. Minibus 3 (¥1) shuttles between Dūnhuáng and the dunes from 7.30am to 9pm, departing from Mingshan Lu. A taxi costs ¥20 one way.
The climb to the top of the dunes – the highest peak swells to 1715m – is sweaty work, but worth it. Rent a pair of bright orange shoe protectors (防沙靴; fángshāxuē; ¥10) or just shake your shoes out later.
At the base of the colossal dunes is a famous yet underwhelming pond, Crescent Moon Lake (Yuèyáquán ). The dunes are a no-holds-barred tourist playpen, with camel rides (per person ¥80) as well as dune buggies, ‘dune surfing’ (sand sliding), paragliding (jumping off the dunes with a chute on your back) and even microlighting. But it’s not hard to hike away to enjoy the dunes in peace.
Hostels in Dūnhuáng offer overnight camel trips to the dunes from ¥400 per person. There are also five- to eight-day expeditions out to the Jade Gate Pass, Liǔyuán and even as far as Lop Nor in the deserts of Xīnjiāng.
