Stop by a Desert Oasis

Drive into the Gobi desert to visit the Mingsha Sand Dunes and the Crescent Moon Lake, just 6km south of Dunhuang City. The natural spring lake is located at the foot of the Echoing Sand Mountain (Mingsha), and can be a truly breath-taking sight to behold, especially at sunrise or sunset. Its growing popularity with tourists has encouraged the local government to make efforts to preserve the shrinking lake, and it has been steadily growing in depth and size for the past few years. Climb one of the nearby dunes to get some excellent panoramic photos of the desert or take a leisurely camel ride for around an hour to see more of the spectacular desert scenery.