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Don Shedrick | profile | all galleries >> China 2008 Total Solar Eclipse and Ancient Silk Road Tour >> Dunhuang Ming Sha Sand Dunes and Mogao Grottoes tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Dunhuang Ming Sha Sand Dunes and Mogao Grottoes

After a tortuous 2 hour bus ride (not including a breakdown), we arrived in the ancient Silk Road crossroads town of Dunhuang. The name "Dunhuang" was given in the Han Dynasty. In Chinese "Dun" means grandness and " Huang" means prosperity. Dunhuang lies at the western end of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province in Northwest China, an oasis on the eastern edge of Taklimakan Desert. It is nourished by melted snow water from the Qilian Mountains on the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The ancient town used to be an important stop-over point on the Silk Road as the terminal of the eastern section of the Silk Road (from Xian to Dunhuang) and the starting point of the middle section of the Silk Road (from Dunhuang to Urumqi). Through this route Chinese culture and products, especially silk, were introduced to European and Middle East countries, and foreign culture and products such as Buddhism of India came to central China. While in Dunhuang, we saw the huge Ming Sha Shan (Singing Sand Hill) sand dunes and the impressive Buddhist relics of the Mogao Grottoes
Ming Sha Sand Dunes and Mogao Grottoes Gallery
Ming Sha Sand Dunes and Mogao Grottoes Gallery
Dunhuang Silk Road Dance Performance Gallery
Dunhuang Silk Road Dance Performance Gallery