Zhangye vs. Dunhuang: Which is the Top Tourism City in Gansu? The Data Comparison is Unbelievable

Zhangye vs. Dunhuang: Which is the top tourism city in Gansu? Both cities are coveted tourist destinations, situated on the famous Hexi Corridor. They were both ancient Hexi commanderies, renowned cities on the ancient Silk Road, with long histories, profound culture, and abundant tourism resources. But which one truly deserves the title of Gansu’s number one tourism city?

Zhangye, historically called Ganzhou, is the origin of the character 'Gan' in Gansu Province. Its name 'Zhangye' was bestowed by Emperor Wu of Han, meaning 'to extend the arm of the state to reach the Western Regions'. It has long been praised as the 'Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall' and 'Golden Zhangye', blending historical charm with half the city's pagoda shadows and natural beauty with half its reeds. It is a National Historical and Cultural City and an Excellent Tourism City of China. The Zhangye National Geopark under its jurisdiction was even rated by National Geographic as one of the world's top ten most amazing geographical wonders.

Zhangye boasts extremely rich tourism resources. The most famous is the Colorful Danxia, known as one of the world's top ten wonders, and it is Zhangye’s only national AAAAA-level tourist attraction. Other attractions include the Mati Temple (Horseshoe Temple) rivaling the Mogao Caves, the world's largest military horse farm – the Shandan Horse Ranch, and the Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon, dubbed China's Colorado Grand Canyon. In total, Zhangye has 19 national AAAA-level tourist attractions, and it can be said that Zhangye possesses all natural landscapes except the sea.

In 2019 (2020 and 2021 saw the national tourism industry affected by special circumstances, so we uniformly use 2019 data), Zhangye received a total of 42.3995 million tourists, with comprehensive tourism revenue of 27.906 billion yuan. These figures are outstanding, even impressive on a national scale.

Dunhuang, like Zhangye, is a key military town on the Hexi Corridor and a famous commercial city on the Silk Road. The name Dunhuang first appeared in Zhang Qian's report to Emperor Han Kai of Han. The 'Records of the Grand Historian: Account of Dayuan' says: 'Originally the Yuezhi lived between Dunhuang and Qilian.' The 'Book of Han' says: 'Dun means great. Huang means flourishing.' Li Jifu of the Tang Dynasty further elaborated in the 'Yuanhe Maps and Records of Prefectures and Counties': 'Dun means great. Because it broadly connects the Western Regions, it is named for its prosperity.'

Dunhuang and Zhangye are both among the Four Commanderies of Hexi and are node cities on the Silk Road. Zhangye is known as 'Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall', while Dunhuang is one of Gansu's four major oases. Its history is equally long, and its culture is even more profound, because here lies the world cultural heritage site – the Mogao Caves, whose flying Apsaras murals are renowned worldwide.

Dunhuang is a county-level city administered by Jiuquan, which is also one of the Four Commanderies of Hexi. Therefore, its jurisdiction is slightly smaller than Zhangye (Zhangye covers 38,600 square kilometers, Dunhuang covers 31,200 square kilometers), but the difference is not significant, so it is not at a great disadvantage. Dunhuang's famous attractions include the World Heritage site Mogao Caves, the national AAAAA-level tourist attraction Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring, as well as the Yadan Ghost City, Yumen Pass, Yang Pass, and the Great Wall ruins of Han Dynasty.

Perhaps in terms of quantity, Dunhuang has fewer tourist attractions than Zhangye, but in terms of quality, Dunhuang is no less than Zhangye, and even surpasses it. After all, the Mogao Caves are a World Heritage site, while Zhangye has none (China Danxia is a World Heritage site, but it does not include Zhangye's Colorful Danxia or Ice Gully Danxia, etc.). Moreover, Yumen Pass and Yang Pass hold significant historical status. There are countless famous poems: 'Why should the Qiang flute complain about the willows? The spring breeze never crosses Yumen Pass,' 'The long wind blows tens of thousands of miles, crossing Yumen Pass,' 'Dark clouds over Qinghai obscure the snowy mountains, a lone city gazes far toward Yumen Pass,' 'I urge you to drink one more cup of wine; west of Yang Pass, there will be no old friends.' There are numerous celebrated verses.

Dunhuang's tourism resources are extremely rich, but reflected in the data, there is still a certain gap with Zhangye. In 2019, Dunhuang received 13.3733 million tourists, achieving tourism revenue of 14.969 billion yuan. The number of tourists is only one-third of Zhangye's, and tourism revenue is only about half. However, considering that Dunhuang's permanent population is only one-sixth of Zhangye's, and Zhangye is closer to the Central Plains with a certain geographical advantage, Yu Fan believes that the tourism gap between Dunhuang and Zhangye is not as large as the data suggests. Both are excellent tourist cities that people aspire to visit. So, which city do you think is the top tourism city in Gansu? Zhangye? Dunhuang? Or Lanzhou?