Natural site · GANSU
Crescent Lake & Mingsha Mountain
月牙泉与鸣沙山 · Yuèyáquán & Míngshāshān
About
Spring-fed crescent-shaped lake at the foot of 250m sand dunes, 5 km south of Dunhuang. Camel rides, sand-sledding, sunset viewing.
Crescent Lake (Yueyaquan) is a 200m-long, crescent-shaped, spring-fed pool that has persisted at the foot of the Mingsha (Singing) Sand Mountain for over two millennia despite being surrounded by 250m sand dunes. Climbing to the top of the dunes for sunset is the canonical Dunhuang activity — the colour shift from gold to red across the dunes is a 30-minute show. Camel rides take visitors a portion of the way up; sand-sledding boards are rented at the base.
How to get there
Bus 3 or taxi from central Dunhuang (5 km).
When to visit
Late afternoon to sunset, May–October.
Other attractions in Dunhuang
Itineraries featuring this site
- Gansu and Ningxia — Yinchuan, Lanzhou, Zhangye, Jiayuguan and Dunhuang, 7 days
7d · Seven days across two northwest provinces — the Hui Muslim city of Yinchuan, Yellow River Lanzhou, the Danxia rainbow hills, Jiayuguan Fort and the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang.
- Silk Road — Xi'an, Lanzhou, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang
10d · The Hexi Corridor: Xi'an east-to-west by HSR through the Buddhist cave-temples and Silk Road forts.
- Silk Road — Xi'an to Kashgar, 14 days
14d · The full Hexi Corridor route from Xi'an west through Lanzhou, Dunhuang and the Taklamakan edge to Turpan and Kashgar — the historical Silk Road across northwest China.
- First-timer China — 21 days with northwest Silk Road extension
21d · Three weeks across China: the classic eastern cities, a Yunnan highland loop, and a Silk Road extension through Gansu into the northwest — covering the range of what China actually contains.
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