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Crescent-Moon Spring

The spring lies at the foot of the Mingsha Sand Dune and is named for its shape. It is about 100m long and 25m wide, and has fish and water weeds that are said to be good for the health. The area is often hit by windstorm, which drives up sand to shut out sun-light. Interestingly enough, however, for hundreds of years people have never seen the spring filled up with or covered by sand.

Situated 75km northwest of Dunhuang, the Jade Gate Pass was a strategic pass on the ancient Silk Road. It was so named because the jade of Honan in what is now Xinjiang region was transported to central China through this pass. In his poem Go North of Great Wall, the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Zhihuan had the famous line, " Beyond the Yumen Pass the breath of Sring has never crossed". The mention of Yumen in the poem has made the pass all the more famous.

Dunhuang has a spectacular natural scene: Mingsha (Sighing) Sand Dune. The dune, a sand crusted hill of dozens of meters high, is 40km east to west, and 20km south to north. In fine days, sand roars like thunder which can be heard in the city, hence the name. when visitors climb up to the dunes and slide downward from the summit, the sand can collapse with them and give out a pearl of loud sound.

The Mogao Grottoes, commonly named Thousand-Buddha Caves, and praised as "a glittering pearl that adorns the Silk Road", are the most famous grottoes in China. Located 25km southeast of Dunhuang County, these caves are carved out of the sandstone cliffs of Mingsha Mountain, extending some 1600m from south to north. Constructed in 10 dynasties from the fourth to the 14th century, its 45000 square meters of mural paintings and more than 2000 color statues are regarded as the greatest treasure-house of Buddhist art existing in the world.