The Silk Road is among the world’s most storied trading routes, conjuring up images of camel caravans trading wares between Italy and China. In the 14th century, Marco Polo travelled the length of the dusty road as the guest of Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan. Our own — and far humbler— mini-Silk Road adventure took us west from Beijing via Xi’an and Lanzhou to the ancient Chinese trading post of Dunhuang.
Forget the silk. Nowadays, camels haul tourists along the ancient trading route.
We initially hoped that traveling west would be the antidote to Beijing’s crowds. Unfortunately, Xian (famed for the Terra Cotta warriors, another of China’s namesake attractions) proved no less frantic, same for the industrial city of Lanzhou. Upon reaching Dunhuang, however, we found ourselves surprisingly alone at Charley Johng’s Dune Guesthouse. The dusty Chinese courtyard-style house was showing its age, but it was still sort of amazing to have it to ourselves for three nights, especially after suffering the crowds of China’s national holiday a week earlier. The weather, too, was remarkably improved. Though cold at night, days in Dunhuang were marked by sunshine and clear blue skies.
Vast sand dunes surround the city of Dunhuang
Perched on the edge of the Gobi desert, for centuries Dunhuang provided sanctuary to weary Silk Road travelers, many of whom had just braved the perilous desert crossing. Polo – who knew the town as Suochow – rested here for a year. Nowadays Dunhuang’s traditional function has been supplanted by more modern forms of transport, but the town — with its colossal sand dunes and oasis vibe — still provides a striking base for tourists hoping to explore the area.
Mountains of sand
The main thing to do here is visit the Magao Grottoes, an ancient network of caves carved into the cliffs southeast of the city. As trade along the Silk Road prospered, nobles and merchants filled these rocky dwellings with Buddhist statues and frescoes dating back through the centuries. When the Silk Road was ultimately abandoned, the caves faded from memory (which is possibly how they managed to survive China’s Cultural Revolution). When they were rediscovered in the early 20th century, many artifacts were removed by vagabond explorers, including a treasure trove of ancient documents now on display at the British Museum and the Louvre. It wasn't until the ‘50s that the caves received official heritage protection. What remains still counts among the world’s finest examples of Buddhist art. Paying the small surplus for an English-speaking guide is also well worth the price. Not only did we get to skip the queue, we were able to visit caves not included on the regular Chinese tour.
The originals were destroyed during China's Cultural Revolution, but the replica of the temple is still impressive
We visited Crescent Lake, a pretty replica of a Qing dynasty temple surrounded by towering sand dunes. The temple hugs a crescent-shaped lake — hence the name — and is very popular with camera-wielding tourists. Luckily for us, crowds were light the day we visited; once we scrambled to the top of the dunes, we were virtually on our own. This was sweaty work (and best accomplished sans footwear), but we were rewarded with spectacular views of the surrounding desert, with mountains peeking out in the distance.
Into the sunset: Our Silk Road safari
We wrapped up the weekend with a sunset camel safari, which seemed like a fitting way to celebrate our Silk Road escape, as well as our one-month travel anniversary. The four-hour trip took us even further into the desert, where we climbed even greater dunes for a gorgeous sunset, before getting back onto our (slightly flatulent) camels for the ride home. It was a beautiful star-strewn evening — a sight usually obscured by the bright lights of China’s cities — that made our long trip out from Beijing totally worthwhile.
Tom Mountford