Dunhuang and the Iron Curtain

After arriving in Dunhuang from Jiayuguan on an early slow train, we went to Johng's Guesthouse, a very nice, good-value guesthouse with the quite spectacular sand dunes and camels just nextdoor.

Hanna was feeling a bit sick, so we just had a walk around the guesthouse. Strangely enough, we found that the sand dunes had actually been fenced off, and a bit further down the road we discovered an entrance gate, where tourists are supposed to cough up a steep 120RMB to get access. It didn't feel overly touristy (mainly Chinese tourists, with only the odd Westerner), but handicraft stalls and obligatory camel ride expeditions were of course part of the deal.
We of course didn't pay to get in. We decided to walk along the fence, and a few hundred meters off, away from guards and boys scouting for intruders, we managed to slip underneath the fence and get our free, be it short, original sand dune experience.


The next day, Hanna was not feeling too well, so Floris went to the Mogao caves alone. The 492 caves near this important Silk Route oasis contain ancient Buddhist art, spanning a period of about 1000 years, most of them dating from the Tang dynasty era.
Access to the caves was not cheap (180RMB p/p, including a mandatoy English Guide), but the site definitely is interesting and of immense cultural importance.

From Dunhuang, we took a very comfortable, quiet nighttrain to Urumqi, deep in China's vast Xinjiang province.