Desert camping in Dunhuang

I booked an overnight desert trip through a cafe (Charlie Jong I think) and paid 400 y. I only booked the day before the trip, once I had arrived in Dunhuang. We went out (3 people) on camels, lead by our guide Mr Lee, after lunch. We went past the overcrowded singing sands dunes for an hour ang a half to past a couple of other camping areas to one that had all the necessary equipment. It was a very uncomfortable ride and I was very relieved to arrive, despit not being very far out. The amazing Mr Lee set up our tents while we climbed dunes (more difficult than you might imagine) and watched the sun set. A truly beautiful experience. Then we came down to sit on a piece of carpet and eat noodles, from a packet, and eat fruit and bread. We lay on the carpet and watched stars. We weren't far enough out to get no light pollution but we still saw a lot more stars than I was used to. One traveller wanted to sleep outside but was assured that it was not a good idea and the huge scorpian tracks we saw the next morning suggested he was right. We got up in time to see the sunrise and ate leftover bread and fruit while Mr Lee packed up and lead us back to town. It's a pretty basic experience and I'm not sure the desert is doing too well out of it, with a fair bit of camping rubbish strewn around. I was however, very pleased to have slept in the desert, seen the sun rising and setting and watched so many stars, and I'm glad I didn't have to spend any more time on a camel, nice though they were.

Thanks for the response, but I'm leaning towards just doing an overnight trip sans camels. Any idea how much stores in town charge to rent tents? Talked to the owner of Charley Johng and they said that the guesthouse doesn't offer rentals anymore.

I didn't see anywhere that rented out tents. Camping isn't a common activity in China. And I don't know how you'd get out to the desert without a camel. We did see a vehicle out there but you'd have to know what you were doing. I imagine getting bogged in the sand would be pretty easy. All the groups that take people out to camp in the desert seem to have their equipment already out there.

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