How to Get to Mogao Caves 2024/2025

Dunhuang (92° 13′ - 95° 30′E, 39° 40′ - 41° 40′N) of Jiuquan City, Gansu Province, is located in the westernmost end of Hexi Corridor, at the intersection of 3 provinces, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang. Dunhuang is an important outpost city along the Silk Road, with the world heritage Mogao Gaves, Great Wall relics in the Han dynasty (25 BC - 220 AD), Yumen pass, and Yangguan pass. Tourists can easily get to Dunhuang by air or train.

▶ Get to Dunhuang by Air: Dunhuang Airport (IATA: DNH) is about 14km away from the Dunhuang downtown area. There are flights from Lanzhou (2h) and Xi'an (2.5h) all year round, and some seasonal flights covering cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Kunming, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Xining, etc.

★ Recommended Dunhuang Mogao Caves Tour: >>2 Days Dunhuang Short Stay Tour

▶ Get to Dunhuang by Train: There are two railway stations in Dunhuang, Dunhuang Railway Station and Liuyuan Railway Station. About 12km away from the Dunhuang downtown, Dunhuang Railway Station links Jiayuguan, Lanzhou and Xi'an. Liuyuan Railway Station is about 128km away from Dunhuang downtown, and it operates trains to Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Lanzhou, Urumqi and other cities.

★ Recommended Dunhuang Mogao Caves Tour: >> Title: 3 Days Best Dunhuang Culture and Scenery Tour

The only way to get to Mogao Caves Scenic Area from Dunhuang is to take the shuttle bus from the Magao Caves Digital Exhibition Center which is a complex building of ticket office, exhibition halls and theaters for Mogao Caves related films. There are 6 types of tickets (Ticket A/B/C/D/E/F) selling to the visitors. For visitors who bought the ticket A/B/D/E can take the shuttle bus at the Digital Center to the Mogao Caves Scenic Area according to the scheduled time on the ticket.

Opening Hours of Magao Caves Digital Exhibition Center

07:30 - 15:00 (Apri 1st to Oct. 31st ); 08:30 - 15:00 (Nov. 1st to Mar. 31st)

Note: ❶ Mogao Caves Digital Exhibition Center is the ONLY entrance to Mogao Caves Scenic Area. There is a large parking lot for tourists to park here, and No ticket office in Mogao Caves Area. Please do not drive directly to the Grottoes area. ❷ The digital exhibition center of Mogao Gaves is your first stop to visit Mogao Grottoes. Please take your passport or other valid documents and ticket to get to the digital center 30 minutes before the scheduled time on your ticket. ❸ The ticket will be checked more than once. Please keep your ticket properly before the end of your visit.

▶ Distance to Magao Caves Digital Exhibition Center

• From Dunhuang Airport: about 4km, 10min by car

• From Dunhuang Railway Station: about 2km, 5min by car

• From Liuyuan Railway Station: about 140km, 3h by car

• From Dunhuang Downtown: about 12km, 20min by car

• From Mingsha Mountain & Crescent Lake Park: about 13km, 30min by car

Usually, 2~4 days are needed to explore the highlights of Dunhuang. The world heritage site Mogao Caves and the stunning landscape of Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Lake are two Must-Go attractions which take a full day to visit. You can then spend one more day to explore the western region of Dunhuang which also has a lot of attractions, such as the ruin of Great Wall, Yumenguan Pass, Yardang Landform, etc. As for the downtown sites, if time allows, don't miss the Shazhou Night Market and Dunhuang Museum.

Some travelers usually travel Dunhuang with other destinations in Gansu, such as Jiayuguan, Zhangye, Lanzhou, etc. One can even travel from Dunhuang to Turpan, Urumqi of Xinjiang.

★ Recommended Dunhuang Tours

>> 2 Days Dunhuang Short Stay Tour

>> 3 Days Best Dunhuang Culture and Scenery Tour

>> 4 Days Classic Dunhuang Tour

>>6 Days Hexi Corridor Discovery Tour(Zhangye/Jiayuguan/Dunhuang)

Travel Dunhuang with China Discovery

Travel with China Discovery, our professional local guide and driver will escort you from your hotel, train station, airport to all attractions with comfortable licensed private car, to catch the highlights of Dunhuang. If you are interested, please do not hesitate to contact us and tell us your needs, and we will customize a memorable tour for you!