This Autumn, Experience the Beauty of China's Silk Road in the Hexi Corridor, Gansu

A spontaneous trip decided by three people on a whim without a long, rigorous plan, haha. The reason was simple: in early September, my photographer Rui, a beautiful angel in white, finally managed to get a shift off in mid-September. We immediately decided not to waste these five days. I quickly called Da Mei, and the two of us rushed to ask for leave—we couldn't hold back the progress. It didn't matter where we went; we asked for leave first, haha.

Time was tight and tasks were heavy. We confirmed the travel dates: 16th to 20th, five days. Then we booked tickets and hotels, and looked for food. We had several destinations in mind: Changsha, Chenzhou, Changde; Taizhou; Chengdu (since we only visited western Sichuan earlier this year and didn't do a deep tour of Chengdu city, it was also on the initial list); and Weizhou Island in Beihai, Guangxi (but we were a bit afraid of typhoons preventing us from reaching the island).

We were still torn. Originally, we had no plans to go to the northwest. Travel to and from home took two days, leaving only three actual days. We felt that both the big loop and the small loop were a bit tight. In the end, we discovered a three-day Hexi Corridor itinerary starting from Lanzhou and ending in Dunhuang, a small group tour capped at 8 people. We immediately and happily decided to explore the Silk Road in the Hexi Corridor of the great northwest!

【Itinerary】

Day 1 (2023/9/16): Tianjin → Lanzhou, Hotel: Starway Hotel Lanzhou West Railway Station Branch (Dinner: Zaihuishou Specialty Lanzhou Cuisine)

Day 2 (2023/9/17): Lanzhou → Zhangye (Rainbow Mountains) → Jiayuguan, Hotel: Kunyi·Time Hotel Jiayuguan Xiongguan Square Branch (Dinner: Jiayuguan - Da Wan Xiao Mian Min Jie Noodle House)

Day 3 (2023/9/18): Jiayuguan (Jiayuguan Pass) → Guazhou (Son of the Earth + Boundless) → Dunhuang, Hotel: Dunhuang Zhongzhou International Hotel (Dinner: Dunhuang - Shazhou Night Market Snacks)

Day 4 (2023/9/19): Dunhuang (Mingsha Mountain & Crescent Moon Spring + Mogao Caves), Hotel: Jianshe Inn (Mogao Caves Digital Center Branch) (Dinner: Dunhuang Mogao Town - Zhang Ge Men Bing)

Day 5 (2023/9/20): Dunhuang → Lanzhou (Gansu Provincial Museum) → Tianjin (Lunch: Ma Anjun Chili Beef Noodles + Linxia Big Cake King)

【Cost Details】

(1) Round-trip airfare Tianjin-Lanzhou: 1,780 yuan/person

(2) Two nights in Lanzhou and Dunhuang hotels: approx. 143 yuan/person

(3) Three-day Hexi Corridor group fee (high-speed rail + transport + tickets + accommodation): 2,434 yuan/person

(4) Transport (Lanzhou airport bus and Lanzhou West to airport intercity, taxi, bus, subway): 80 yuan/person

(5) Food: approx. 170 yuan/person

(6) Shopping (local specialties, etc.): approx. 360 yuan/person

(7) Other (Mingsha Mountain costume rental, camel rental): 230 yuan/person

Per person total: approx. 5,000 yuan

【Detailed Itinerary】

At 13:15, we flew from Tianjin Airport to Lanzhou. We were off! This time, the three of us together would attack the Hexi Corridor in the great northwest! The plane served lunch. Thumbs up for Hainan Airlines, hehe.

Just after 4:00 PM, we landed in Lanzhou. Following the signs, we retrieved our luggage at the carousel. Seeing no suitable high-speed train times, we directly went to the counter and bought tickets for Airport Bus Line 3 to Lanzhou West Station (30 yuan per person, pay with ID card at the counter, buses depart about every half hour, journey about 1 hour 10 minutes). Since we planned to have dinner first, we got off at Liujiaying Shizi Station, walked about ten minutes with our luggage to Zaihuishou in Lanzhou Center for dinner.

We must say, Zaihuishou is truly a Lanzhou specialty food place, and delicious and cheap! Order at the window at the entrance, hand the receipt to the pickup counter inside to exchange for a number tag, then find a seat with your number tag and wait for your food. The three of us ordered a lot: spicy three items, liangpi, grey beans, fruity fermented rice, mashed potato pie, large cup of sweet fermented rice milk tea, large cup of sweet fermented rice green tea. All this for a total of 71 yuan—truly good quality and low price.

After eating, we briefly strolled through Lanzhou Center and the clothing street outside, then took the bus back to the hotel to rest and prepare for the official Hexi Corridor trip the next day, hehe. But we must say, Lanzhou's weekend traffic jams are quite bad. The distance wasn't far, but the bus took over half an hour to arrive. Fortunately, right across the street was our Starway Hotel. We quickly tidied up and went to sleep beautifully. 🌙

Since it was a group tour, the three of us were paired with one man. Over the three days, we were four people in one car. According to the driver arranged by the travel agency the day before, we departed on time to Lanzhou West High-Speed Rail Station.

At 9:30 AM, we boarded the high-speed train to Zhangye. ✌ Rainbow Mountains, here I come!

After three hours, at 12:40 PM, the train arrived at Zhangye West Station. We quickly exited the station and met our Hexi Corridor three-day tour driver, Master Wu, at the agreed pickup spot. Then we headed straight to Zhangye Rainbow Mountains.

When we arrived at Zhangye Rainbow Mountains, Master Wu helped us get our tickets, and our Rainbow Mountains tour began.

This time, we finally got to see this palette knocked over by God with our own eyes. At the scenic spot entrance, we boarded a bus that stopped at four viewing platforms. We entered from the North Gate. The first stop was No. 2 Immortal Fate Platform. Climbing to the top was perfect for taking great photos, and the scenery was beautiful.

The second stop was No. 1 Cloud Sea Platform. We took a quick look and moved on.

We went to No. 5 Splendid Platform but didn't get off. Instead, we headed straight to today's highlight: No. 4 Rainbow Cloud Platform. We arrived at Rainbow Cloud Platform just before 4 PM. This platform is especially beautiful in the afternoon, especially near sunset. You can see the legendary "five-flower meat" rock formations, and photos turn out gorgeous.

At Platform 4, thanks to our thorough preparation and numerous poses, a group of aunties who arrived later expressed admiration. So we helped them take beautiful photos too, becoming pose and photography directors. We helped seven or eight aunties traveling together get great shots. We were truly happy and envious of their friendship. We hope we can be like them in the future, hehe.

Around 5:30 PM, we took the bus back to the North Gate parking lot and headed back. Passing by Danxia Town, we saw it was getting late and skipped this free attraction, driving directly to Jiayuguan. About two hours later, at 7:30 PM, we arrived at Kunyi·Time Hotel Jiayuguan and checked in. Here we must praise Ctrip. Since the three of us didn't want anyone to sleep alone, they arranged a family room. Unexpectedly, we got a family parent-child deluxe suite in Jiayuguan. The room was huge, each of us had a large bed, and there was even a separate room—so comfortable!

After dropping our luggage, we went out to find food. We chose Da Wan Xiao Mian Min Jie Noodle House, located inside a food market. We took a taxi directly to the market entrance and walked in easily. We arrived at nearly 8:30 PM, but the place was still packed. It was a great-value self-service noodle place: 18 yuan per person, unlimited noodles, side dishes, and sauces. The noodles were all whole grain, served bowl by bowl. You DIY the sauce and side dishes for each bowl. We had a total of seven bowls to try every type of noodle—we were stuffed! Our appetite was impressive.

After eating our fill, we took a taxi back to the hotel, rested, and prepared for tomorrow's Jiayuguan and Guazhou itinerary, hehe.

We had breakfast at the hotel at 7:30 AM and departed for Jiayuguan Pass at 8:00 AM. We got our tickets around 8:30 AM and began our first battle of the day. Jiayuguan is the throat of the Hexi Corridor and the end of the Great Wall. It was truly震撼. We felt the wind at the pass and experienced the charm of the "First Pass Under Heaven."

That day, we chose to wear horse-face skirts at Jiayuguan Pass, as if traveling through a thousand years. "Seas change, millennia pass like a dream."

After about an hour and a half of sightseeing, we met the driver and our fellow traveler at 10:00 AM and set off for Guazhou's Son of the Earth, the place I was most looking forward to.

Guazhou's melons are top-notch. At a rest stop, we bought a Hami melon from Guazhou—10 yuan each, super sweet and delicious.

At 2:00 PM, we arrived at Guazhou's Son of the Earth and Boundless. The two sculptures are adjacent. They were created by Professor Dong from Tsinghua University. "Son of the Earth" aims to call on the public to protect the Earth. "Boundless," also known as "Mirage," is equally stunning.

Son of the Earth: The sky is his blanket, the earth his bed. He is the loneliest child on Earth, guarding the silent desert alone.

Boundless: Break free from shackles, eliminate attachments to vanity.

The two sculptures paired beautifully with the horse-face skirts—perfect photos, hehe.

At that moment, I only wanted a BGM of "holding a sword and wandering the world," hehe.

After taking photos, we headed to Dunhuang Zhongzhou International Hotel to check in. It wasn't far; we arrived around 4:00 PM and checked in.

Since it was still early, we planned to have dinner at the night market. We rested at the hotel and left around 6:00 PM for the night market. It was within walking distance. We arrived around 6:30 PM. In the northwest, it gets dark late, so we first browsed shops selling small items. We bought some bookmarks and fridge magnets—super beautiful and cheap.

After shopping, it gradually got dark, and we started our feasting mode, haha. Each of us got a cup of Sister Fu's Apricot Peel Tea, a scallion beef pie, a cup of milk egg fermented rice, a portion of donkey meat yellow noodles, and a portion of jujube cake. We ate heartily. After finishing, we still wanted another cup of apricot peel tea, so we each got a bottle of Li Guangji's Apricot Peel Tea, haha. Dinner was perfect, hehe.

On the way out of the night market, we saw dried apricots for sale—a specialty of Dunhuang. We each bought several bags of dried apricots, apricot pulp, and instant apricot peel tea.

Successful shopping! We returned to the hotel to rest and recharge for the final day in Dunhuang.

We had breakfast at the hotel at 7:00 AM and departed for Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring at 7:30 AM. Today had two main tasks. First, rent costumes—each of us would be a princess in the desert for a day. When we arrived at the scenic area, some costume rental shops were already open. We chose Shop No. 57 near the parking lot.

I rented a red outfit like Xiao Feng from "Eastern Palace"—I would be the Ninth Princess of the Western Zhou for a day, hehe. Rui chose a Western Region Princess costume—very luxurious. Mei chose a Dunhuang Flying Apsaras costume—how can you go to Dunhuang without flying? We only rented clothes, accessories, and simple styling; we did our makeup at the hotel. Rui brought her own DSLR. We were our own photographers, haha. Come on, my princesses! Rui and I each rented a camel. The camels for photos are very cute.

We entered through the middle gate, first took a photo of the Mingsha Mountain sign, then turned left to the lower dunes specifically for photos. We saw photographers from various studios gathered there, and we followed suit—it was indeed very photogenic.

After shooting until about 11:30 AM, we returned to the entrance and bought round-trip electric cart tickets to Crescent Moon Spring. We were too tired to walk. Getting off the cart, Crescent Moon Spring was immediately to the right.

But to get a panoramic view of Crescent Moon Spring, we needed to climb the very high sand dune opposite. Mei was too tired and waited below. Rui and I began the arduous climb. The resistance was great; crocs were worse than bare feet. Although there were rope ladders, it was still very difficult because the dune was very high. About halfway, Rui got tired and waited. Following the principle of "since we're here," I insisted on climbing to the top even though it was tough—I carried the hope of the whole group. I gritted my teeth and made it. And sure enough, the view of Crescent Moon Spring from the top was incredibly beautiful.

Our pleasant half-day at Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring came to a successful end. Next was the final stop of our Hexi Corridor tour. After returning the costumes around 1:00 PM, we headed to the Mogao Caves.

Today's second main task was to deeply study the history of the Mogao Caves. The Mogao Caves were another place I was very much looking forward to on this trip. The value of the Mogao Caves is that they are not just a scenic spot; they are cultural relics, history, a life that has lived for over a thousand years, and a treasure of the world.

Mogao Caves tickets are divided into regular tickets and emergency tickets. Regular tickets allow you to watch two movies and then visit eight caves (random daily, each group led by a different guide may visit different caves). Emergency tickets only allow four caves.

We had regular tickets for 2:00 PM. We arrived half an hour early at 1:30 PM, entered with our ID cards. First, we watched two movies at the Mogao Caves Digital Center: one digital film explaining the formation history of the Mogao Caves, and the second a dome screen film for an immersive 3D experience of the caves. After the movies, we took the scenic area bus to the actual Mogao Caves.

At the entrance, each guide handed out headphones (free). Each guide led a small group to visit eight caves, explaining each cave. Due to thousands of years of oxidation, photography inside the caves is now discouraged, and prolonged stays with excess carbon dioxide are avoided, as it can cause irreversible damage to the murals. Truly, you see a little less each time.

Mr. Yu Qiuyu once wrote in "Mogao Caves": "Seeing the Dunhuang Mogao Caves is not looking at specimens dead for a thousand years, but life alive for a thousand years." After listening to the guide and viewing the caves, I inexplicably felt like crying—mixed with regret and anger. This place truly carries thousands of years of Chinese civilization.

An afternoon of nearly four hours of learning was truly a dialogue across millennia. "A dream into Dunhuang, a glance at a thousand years!"

After the tour, we lingered for a long time, wanting to keep the memory. So we took some photos outside the caves.

Around 6:00 PM, we took the bus back to the Mogao Caves Digital Center. Our Hexi Corridor itinerary officially ended. Since we had a flight from Dunhuang to Lanzhou the next morning at 7:30 AM, we had booked Jianshe Inn (Mogao Caves Digital Center Branch), very close to the center and also near the airport. After checking in, we went to the nearby Zhang Ge Men Bing for dinner.

We ordered specialty Hu sheep stewed flatbread, stir-fried chives with eggs, cold noodles, and garlic eggplant, plus apricot peel tea. We ate our fill to prepare for the return trip. We felt a bit reluctant to leave; happy times are always short.

We arranged with the kind innkeeper to be sent to the airport at 6:00 AM. Before dawn, we saw the starry sky, making up for not seeing stars at Crescent Moon Spring, hehe.

At 7:30 AM, we flew to Lanzhou for a layover, then at 6:00 PM flew to Tianjin. We checked our luggage through and waited to board. On the 7:30 AM Dunhuang-to-Lanzhou flight, be sure to choose a window seat on the right side—the flight distance is short, cruising altitude is low, and you can see the sunrise above the clouds and the Qilian Mountains. It was truly beautiful.

The plane served some snacks. We landed early just after 9:00 AM. Since we couldn't catch the high-speed train, we dawdled and took the 10:00 AM bus back to the city.

After another hour-long ride, we got off at Liujiaying Shizi Station and walked toward Lanzhou Center. Across the street was the Gansu Provincial Museum. We entered and toured according to our reservation time.

Around 1:30 PM, we exited the museum and followed navigation to a small alley in a residential area to find Ma Anjun Chili Beef Noodles. When in Lanzhou, you must eat Lanzhou beef noodles! In this city—the only one in China without "Lanzhou lamian"—we ordered beef noodles. One bowl of noodles was 8 yuan, beef was 10 yuan per portion (2 liang), an egg was 2 yuan. So one bowl with meat and egg double-flying, haha. We queued at the door to order and pay, picked up beef and eggs, then took the receipt to the noodle window to queue for noodles. We ordered three thin noodles with three scoops of chili (first ten scoops free). We ate together with the big cake we had just bought from the Linxia Big Cake King across the street. So satisfying! Our last meal in Gansu was perfect, hehe.

After eating, we took the subway to Lanzhou West Station and then the intercity railway to Zhongchuan Airport, arriving in about an hour. Around 5:00 PM, after passing security, we spotted the Jiangshui yogurt we had drunk at the start and started buying it in bulk: one box of Jiangshui yogurt and one box of highland yogurt, haha. On the plane, we were probably the only ones each bringing two boxes of yogurt home.

The flight was delayed by an hour, and dinner was also delayed by an hour, which matched our late lunch. China Eastern's meal was good too, hehe.

At 9:30 PM, we landed at Tianjin Binhai International Airport. Our three-person trip to Gansu Lanzhou and the Hexi Corridor was successfully completed. ✌

This time, we finally completed a perfect trip for three. As usual, I mainly planned the itinerary, found suitable accommodation and car hire, and hunted for food, while Rui and Mei were the perfect photographers.

Although it was only five days, we had a great time. Before the pandemic, we had planned a nine-day Fujian trip but unfortunately couldn't go due to masks. Though time was tight this time, we finally fulfilled our dream of a three-person trip. We went to the Hexi Corridor in the northwest, which had great food, great photo opportunities, and historical learning. The post-travel effect: even though we're home, we feel like we're about to set off again, haha. Looking forward to our next trip! ✌

Finally, as usual, I hope every friend who happens to read this travelogue can have a happy and enjoyable trip. Action speaks louder than heart!