Dunhuang Desert Castle Hotel: A Glimpse of a Thousand Years, a Window to the Gobi

Dunhuang, grand and flourishing. Coming to Dunhuang, its vast desert and long river, the empty and desolate scenes have already been sought in dreams a thousand times. What truly surprised me were the resort hotels here; each one is enormous in scale, like small aircraft carriers crouching in the Gobi wind and dust of Dunhuang. Especially Dunhuang Shanzhuang, whose rough exterior and geographical setting reflect the millennia of Buddhist light flowing and the long river sunset of the Dunhuang legend.

The hotel is located in the Mingsha Mountain scenic area, surrounded by ancient desert paths, covering an area of 200,000 square meters with a designed construction area of 38,000 square meters. The hotel entrance is a magnificent western frontier fortress tower, with yellowish-brown, rough mud and stone walls that are grand and imposing, blending seamlessly with the desert风情 of Mingsha Mountain. When we visited, there happened to be a car exhibition; the Land Rover off-road vehicles displayed in front of the tower briefly broke the ancient, millennia-old atmosphere.

The hotel lobby is tall and spacious, a full three stories high, with eight large stone pillars and 24 large shadow-play palace lanterns, making one feel as if they are in a Han or Tang dynasty palace. The wall hanging behind the front desk depicts Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions, and the scroll of the Silk Road winds around the entire hall, brimming with the thousand-year Buddhist charm of the Mogao Caves.

Dunhuang Shanzhuang was established in 1995. I vaguely remember seeing its introduction on CCTV; at that time, my impression was like watching a Western region movie—I couldn't believe it was a hotel.

Dunhuang Shanzhuang has over 200 guest rooms and six private courtyard villas. Although the resort is large and imposing in appearance, the rooms behind the earthen stone castle are not large, with narrow window corridors that have strong ancient defensive features. Deep in the backyard, each courtyard is about 400 square meters, with spacious brick courtyards, windows overlooking the vast and endless Gobi, and decorations full of Dunhuang and northwestern traditional flavor.

In the hotel's backyard, many weeping willows and green plants are planted, which look very pleasing and comfortable in this place of yellow sand and Gobi. A large outdoor elevated theater is also in the backyard, with regular performances that seem to travel through time in the evening.

The Star Picking Pavilion, an open-air restaurant on the top floor of the main building, is named for the idea that by day you can gaze at the desert for a thousand years, and by night you can overlook the galaxy and sea of stars. Here, whether a cup of coffee or a plate of delicacies, it all evokes the ancient sentiment of sunrise and sunset and the turning of the stars.

One kilometer from Dunhuang Shanzhuang are the Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring, two of the Eight Scenic Spots of Dunhuang. The scenic area ticket can be used unlimited times for two consecutive days, and the hotel provides free bicycles for travel there.

The tall and low desert, with camel caravans carrying tourists winding and stretching, seems like colorful lace inlaid on the sand mountains. Tourist helicopters shuttle back and forth in the sky, and off-road vehicles jump and speed across the Gobi, these steel warriors breaking the millennia of solitude up in the sky and down on the ground.

The sand peaks of Mingsha Mountain undulate, and the fine, soft quicksand outlines silk-like contours. As the wind-borne sand scatters, a rumbling sound is heard, known as 'Sand Ridge Clear Hum.' The 'First Spring of the Desert,' Crescent Moon Spring, is shaped like a crescent moon. In the spring grow pondweed and charophyte algae, with dense reeds. The water of the Crescent Moon Spring is naturally colorless; the yellow sand gives it yellow, the sky gives it blue, and the plants give it green, making it a piece of jade in the desert quicksand. 'For ages, the sand has not filled the spring, nor has the spring dried up,' all thanks to the creation of nature. The quicksand of Mingsha Mountain roars, while the water of Crescent Moon Spring is as calm as a mirror. The two complement each other, truly a 'unique scenery beyond the Great Wall.'

SophyJiang's Flavor Journey: I believe the best scenery is in the bowl, sharing only flavors and hotels with interesting souls.