Dūnhuáng Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

Dūnhuáng’s long-distance bus station is located in the heart of the action on Mingshan Lu. Arriving in Dūnhuáng you may be dropped off at a station just south of Yǒuhǎo Bīnguǎn. See the table for details.

The regular bus to Golmud leaves at 8am, and takes a rugged but scenic route that crosses the Altun Mountains. There’s also a sleeper bus in the evening (take warm clothes). To get to Turpan by bus, you’ll need to change buses in Hāmì.

Buses leave hourly for the train station at Liǔyuán (Y20, two hours), or you can get a seat in a faster taxi for Y30. If there’s a sand storm blowing, the trip can take up to four hours.

Train

By the time you read this Dūnhuáng’s new train station should have direct services to/from Lánzhōu and Ürümqi, and maybe other destinations. Other trains will continue to go only to Liǔyuán, even though they may be marked ‘Dūnhuáng’ on timetables. In short, check exactly where your train is going when shelling out for a ticket.

You can purchase tickets at the train booking office (tiělù shòupiàochù; Yangguan Donglu; 8am-noon & 3-6pm), to the right of a small Bank of China branch, for a commission of Y5.

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Air

There are regular flights to Lánzhōu (Y1140), Xī’ān (Y1790) and Běijīng (Y1990), Ürümqi (Y820) and Chéngdū (Y2190), although flights are less frequent from November to March. Seats can be booked at CAAC (Zhōngguó Mínháng; 882 2389; 12 Yangguan Donglu; 8am-noon & 2-8pm) or at the air ticket office (míngshān hángkòng shòupiào chù; 882 3619; 6 Mingshan Lu) in the Míngshān Bīnguǎn.

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