Dunhuang () is a
county-level city
A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...
in Northwestern
Gansu Province
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
,
Western China
Western China (, or rarely ) is the west of China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers one municipality ( Chongqing), six provinces (Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai), and three autonomou ...
. According to the
2010 Chinese census
The 2010 Chinese census, officially the Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (中華人民共和國第六次全國人口普查), was conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China w ...
, the city has a population of 186,027,
though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800.
Dunhuang was a major stop on the ancient
Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...
and is best known for the nearby
Mogao Caves.
Dunhuang is situated in an
oasis containing
Crescent Lake and
Mingsha Shan (, meaning "Singing-Sand Mountain"), named after the sound of the wind whipping off the dunes, the
singing sand phenomenon. Dunhuang commands a strategic position at the crossroads of the ancient Southern
Silk Route and the main road leading from India via
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhasa ...
to
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...
and Southern
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...
,
and also controls the entrance to the narrow
Hexi Corridor
The Hexi Corridor (, Xiao'erjing: حْسِ ظِوْلاْ, IPA: ), also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and rela ...
, which leads straight to the heart of the north Chinese plains and the ancient capitals of
Chang'an
Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...
(today known as Xi'an) and
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyan ...
.
Administratively, the county-level city of Dunhuang is part of the
prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure.
During the Republican era, many of Chi ...
of
Jiuquan
Jiuquan, formerly known as Suzhou, is a prefecture-level city in the northwesternmost part of Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It is more than wide from east to west, occupying , although its built-up area is mostly located in i ...
.
Historically, the city and/or its surrounding region has also been known by the names Shazhou (prefecture of sand) or Guazhou (prefecture of melons).
[Cable and French (1943), p. 41.]. In the modern era, the two alternative names have been assigned respectively to ''Shazhou zhen'' (Shazhou town) which serves as Dunhuang's seat of government, and to the neighboring
Guazhou County.
Etymology
A number of derivations of the name ''Dunhuang'' have been suggested by scholars:
# Giles 1892: ‘artificial mound, tumulus, beacon mound, square block of stone or wood’ + ‘blazing, bright, luminous’.
# Mathews (1931) 1944: , now usually ‘regard as important, to esteem; honest, sincere, generous’ + ‘a great blaze; luminous, glittering’.
# McGraw-Hill 1963: (‘honest + shining’).
# Jáo and Demieville 1971 (French, ''Airs de Touen-houang''): () ‘noise of burning’ + ‘great blaze’
er Mathews
# Lín Yǚtáng 1972: () ‘small mound (+ shining)’ or () ‘to shimmer (+ shining)’.
# Kāngxī 1716: , also
't''=''t’''
# Mair 1977,
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
's c. 150 ''
Geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...
'' refers to Dunhuang as Greek (Throana), possibly from Iranian ''Druvana'' meaning something like "fortress for tax collecting."
History
There is evidence of habitation in the area as early as 2,000 BC, possibly by people recorded as the
Qiang in Chinese history. Its name was also mentioned in relation to the homeland of the
Yuezhi in the ''
Records of the Grand Historian
''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...
''. Some have argued that this may refer to the unrelated
toponym
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
Dunhong – the archaeologist Lin Meicun has also suggested that ''Dunhuan'' may be a Chinese name for the
Tukhara
The Tocharians, or Tokharians ( US: or ; UK: ), were speakers of Tocharian languages, Indo-European languages known from around 7600 documents from around 400 to 1200 AD, found on the northern edge of the Tarim Basin (modern Xinjiang, Ch ...
, a people widely believed to be a Central Asian offshoot of the Yuezhi.
By the third century BC, the area became dominated by the
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...
, but came under Chinese rule during the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
after
Emperor Wu defeated the Xiongnu in 121 BC.
Dunhuang was one of the four frontier
garrison towns (along with
Jiuquan
Jiuquan, formerly known as Suzhou, is a prefecture-level city in the northwesternmost part of Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It is more than wide from east to west, occupying , although its built-up area is mostly located in i ...
,
Zhangye and
Wuwei) established by the Emperor Wu after the defeat of the Xiongnu, and the Chinese built fortifications at Dunhuang and sent settlers there. The name Dunhuang, meaning "Blazing Beacon", refers to the beacons lit to warn of attacks by marauding nomadic tribes. Dunhuang Commandery was probably established shortly after 104 BC. Located in the western end of the
Hexi Corridor
The Hexi Corridor (, Xiao'erjing: حْسِ ظِوْلاْ, IPA: ), also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and rela ...
near the historic junction of the
Northern
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a r ...
and Southern
Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...
s, Dunhuang was a town of military importance.
"The Great Wall was extended to Dunhuang, and a line of fortified beacon towers stretched westwards into the desert. By the second century AD Dunhuang had a population of more than 76,000 and was a key supply base for caravans that passed through the city: those setting out for the arduous trek across the desert loaded up with water and food supplies, and others arriving from the west gratefully looked upon the mirage-like sight of Dunhuang's walls, which signified safety and comfort. Dunhuang prospered on the heavy flow of traffic. The first Buddhist caves in the Dunhuang area were hewn in 353."
During the
Sui (581-618) and
Tang
Tang or TANG most often refers to:
* Tang dynasty
* Tang (drink mix)
Tang or TANG may also refer to:
Chinese states and dynasties
* Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) ...
(618-907) dynasties, it was the main stop of communication between ancient China and the rest of the world and a major hub of commerce of the Silk Road. Dunhuang was the intersection city of all three main silk routes (north, central, south) during this time.
From the West also came early
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
monks, who had arrived in China by the first century AD, and a sizable Buddhist community eventually developed in Dunhuang. The caves carved out by the monks, originally used for meditation, developed into a place of worship and pilgrimage called the
Mogao Caves or "''Caves of a Thousand Buddhas.''" A number of Christian, Jewish, and
Manichaean
Manichaeism (;
in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (AD ...
artifacts have also been found in the caves (see for example
Jingjiao Documents), testimony to the wide variety of people who made their way along the Silk Road.
During the time of the
Sixteen Kingdoms
The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded by ...
,
Li Gao established the
Western Liang here in 400 AD. In 405 the capital of the Western Liang was moved from Dunhuang to
Jiuquan
Jiuquan, formerly known as Suzhou, is a prefecture-level city in the northwesternmost part of Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It is more than wide from east to west, occupying , although its built-up area is mostly located in i ...
. In 421 the Western Liang was conquered by the
Northern Liang.
As a frontier town, Dunhuang was fought over and occupied at various times by non-Han people. After the fall of
Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
it came under the rule of various nomadic tribes, such as the
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...
during
Northern Liang and the Turkic
Tuoba
The Tuoba (reconstructed Middle Chinese pronunciation: *''tʰak-bɛt''), also known as the Taugast or Tabgach ( otk, 𐱃𐰉𐰍𐰲 ''Tabγač''), was a Xianbei clan in Imperial China.Wei Shou. ''Book of Wei''. Vol. 1
During the Sixteen Kingd ...
during
Northern Wei. The
Tibetans occupied Dunhuang when the
Tang Empire became weakened considerably after the
An Lushan Rebellion
The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general off ...
; and even though it was later returned to Tang rule, it was under quasi-autonomous rule by the local general
Zhang Yichao Zhang may refer to:
Chinese culture, etc.
* Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname
** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname
* Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu
* Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan
* ''Zh ...
, who expelled the Tibetans in 848. After the fall of Tang, Zhang's family formed the Kingdom of Golden Mountain in 910,
but in 911 it came under the influence of the
Uighurs. The Zhangs were succeeded by the Cao family, who formed alliances with the Uighurs and the
Kingdom of Khotan. During the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
, Dunhuang fell outside the Chinese borders. In 1036 the
Tanguts who founded the
Western Xia dynasty captured Dunhuang.
From the reconquest of 848 to about 1036 (i.e. era of the
Guiyi Circuit), Dunhuang was a multicultural
entrepot that contained one of the largest ethnic
Sogdian communities in China following the An Lushan Rebellion. The Sogdians were
Sinified to some extent and were bilingual in
Chinese and
Sogdian, and wrote their documents in
Chinese characters
Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji ...
, but horizontally from left to right instead of right to left in vertical lines, as Chinese was normally written at the time.
Dunhuang was conquered in 1227 by the
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
, who sacked and destroyed the town, and the rebuilt town became part of the Mongol Empire in the wake of
Kublai Khan
Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of ...
's conquest of China under the
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...
. Dunhuang went into a steep decline after the Chinese trade with the outside world became dominated by Southern sea-routes, and the Silk Road was officially abandoned during the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
. It was occupied again by the Tibetans c. 1516, and also came under the influence of the
Chagatai Khanate in the early sixteenth century.
It was retaken by China two centuries later c. 1715 during the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
, and the present-day city of Dunhuang was established east of the ruined old city in 1725. In 1988, Dunhuang was elevated from county to county-level city status.
On March 31, 1995,
Turpan
Turpan (also known as Turfan or Tulufan, , ug, تۇرپان) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 632,000 (2015).
Geonyms
The original name of the cit ...
and Dunhuang became sister cities.
Today, the site is an important
tourist
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...
attraction and the subject of an ongoing archaeological project. A large number of
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced i ...
s and artifacts retrieved at Dunhuang have been digitized and made publicly available via the
International Dunhuang Project.
The spreading
Kumtag Desert, the result of long-standing
overgrazing of the surrounding land, has reached the edges of the city.
In 2011 satellite images showing huge structures in the desert near Dunhuang surfaced online and caused a brief media stir.
Culture
Buddhist caves
A number of Buddhist cave sites are located in the Dunhuang area, the most important of these is the
Mogao Caves which is located southeast of Dunhuang. There are 735 caves in Mogao, and the caves in Mogao are particularly noted for their Buddhist art, as well as the hoard of manuscripts, the
Dunhuang manuscripts
Dunhuang manuscripts refer to a wide variety of religious and secular documents (mostly manuscripts, but also including some woodblock-printed texts) in Chinese and other languages that were discovered at the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China, dur ...
, found hidden in a sealed-up cave. Many of these caves were covered with murals and contain many Buddhist statues. Discoveries continue to be found in the caves, including excerpts from a Christian
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
dating to the
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...
.
Numerous smaller Buddhist cave sites are located in the region, including the
Western Thousand Buddha Caves
The Western Thousand Buddha Caves () is a Buddhist cave temple site in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China. The site is located approximately 35 km southwest of the urban centre and about the same distance from the Yangguan Pass; the area served ...
, the Eastern Thousands Buddha Caves, and the Five Temple site. The
Yulin Caves are located further east in
Guazhou County.
Other historical sites
*
Crescent Lake and
Singing Sand Dunes
*The
Yumen Pass, built in 111 BC, located northwest of Dunhuang in the Gobi desert.
*The
Yang Pass
*
White Horse Pagoda
*
Dunhuang Limes
Museums
in Hecang Fortress (), located about northeast of the Western-Han-era
Yumen Pass, were built during the
Western Han
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...
(202 BC - 9 AD) and significantly rebuilt during the
Western Jin (280-316 AD).
*
Dunhuang County Museum
Dunhuang Museum is a museum in Dunhuang, Gansu, China. It contains a number of Chinese and Tibetan items such as manuscripts from Cave 17 of Mogao Caves, and domestic items.
See also
* List of museums in China
References
Museums in Gans ...
Night market
Dunhuang Night Market is a
night market held on the main thoroughfare, Dong Dajie, in the city centre of Dunhuang, popular with tourists during the summer months. Many souvenir items are sold, including such typical items as
jade
Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group ...
, jewelry, scrolls, hangings, small sculptures, leather shows puppets, coins, Tibetan horns and Buddha statues.
A sizable number of
members of China's ethnic minorities engage in business at these markets. A
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...
n dessert or sweet is also sold, consisting of a large, sweet
confection made with
nuts and
dried fruit, sliced into the portion desired by the customer.
Geography
Climate
Dunhuang has a
cool arid climate
The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...
(
Köppen ''BWk''), with an annual total precipitation of , the majority of which occurs in summer; precipitation occurs only in trace amounts and quickly evaporates. Winters are long and freezing, with a 24-hour average temperature of in January, while summers are hot, with a July average of ; the annual mean is . The
diurnal temperature variation averages annually. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 69% in March to 82% in October, the city receives 3,258 hours of bright sunshine annually, making it one of the sunniest nationwide.
The
Gansu Dunhuang Solar Park was built in the southwest suburbs of the city to harvest the abundant solar energy.
Administrative divisions
As of 2020, Dunhuang administers nine
towns
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an or ...
and one other
township-level division.
These township-level divisions then administer 56
village-level divisions.
Towns
The city's nine towns are , , , , , , , , and .
Other township-level divisions
The city's sole other township-level division is .
Historical divisions
Prior to 2015, and were administered as townships.
Prior to 2019, the city administered as a township-level division. In 2011, was formed from Yangjiaqiao Township ().
Demographics
2019 city estimates put Dunhuang's population at about 191,800.
According to the
2010 Chinese census
The 2010 Chinese census, officially the Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (中華人民共和國第六次全國人口普查), was conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China w ...
, Dunhuang has a population of 186,027, down slightly from the 187,578 recorded in the
2000 Chinese Census.
In 1996, the city had an estimated population of 125,000 people.
Dunhuang has an
urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly th ...
rate of 69.45% as of 2019.
In 2019, the city had a
birth rate
The birth rate for a given period is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registration system for births; populati ...
of 9.87‰, and a
death rate
Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of d ...
of 5.69‰, giving it a
rate of natural increase of 3.15‰.
97.8% of the city's population is ethnically
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...
, with the remaining 2.2% being 27
ethnic minorities, including ethnic
Hui,
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
,
Tibetan
Tibetan may mean:
* of, from, or related to Tibet
* Tibetan people, an ethnic group
* Tibetan language:
** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard
** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken diale ...
,
Uyghur,
Miao Miao may refer to:
* Miao people, linguistically and culturally related group of people, recognized as such by the government of the People's Republic of China
* Miao script or Pollard script, writing system used for Miao languages
* Miao (Unicode ...
,
Manchu,
Monguor,
Kazakh,
Dongxiang, and
Yugur populations.
As of 2019, the annual
per capita disposable income of urban residents was ¥36,215, and the annual per capita disposable income of rural residents was ¥18,852.
Economy
As of 2019, Dunhuang has a
gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is of ...
of ¥8.178 billion.
The value of the city's
primary sector
The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining.
The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy ...
totaled ¥0.994 billion, its
secondary sector
In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construc ...
totaled ¥1.872 billion, and its
tertiary sector totaled ¥5.312 billion.
As of 2020, Dunhuang has a
gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is of ...
of ¥7.778 billion. The value of the city's
primary sector
The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining.
The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy ...
totaled ¥1.082 billion, its
secondary sector
In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construc ...
totaled ¥1.752 billion, and its
tertiary sector totaled ¥4.943 billion.
Transportation
Dunhuang is served by
China National Highway 215 and
Dunhuang Mogao International Airport,
A railway branch known as the
Dunhuang railway or the
Liudun Railway (), constructed in 2004–2006, connects Dunhuang with the Liugou Station on the
Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway (in
Guazhou County). There is regular passenger service on the line, with overnight trains from Dunhuang to
Lanzhou and
Xi'an. Dunhuang Station is located northeast of town, near the airport.
The railway from Dunhuang was extended south into
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
, connecting Dunhuang to Subei, Mahai and
Yinmaxia (near
Golmud
Golmud, also known by various other romanizations, is a county-level city in the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province, China. It is now the second-largest city in Qinghai and the third largest in the Tibetan ...
) on the
Qingzang railway. The central section of this railway opened on 18 December 2019 completing the through route.
See also
*
Three hares
The three hares (or three rabbits) is a circular motif or meme appearing in sacred sites from East Asia, the Middle East and to the churches of Devon, England (as the " Tinners' Rabbits"), and historical synagogues in Europe. It is used as an a ...
(as a decorative
motif)
*
Major National Historical and Cultural Sites (Gansu)
*
Bhadrakalpikasutra
*
Dunhuang Star Chart
*
Aurel Stein
Sir Marc Aurel Stein,
( hu, Stein Márk Aurél; 26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at ...
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Mogao caves
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Paul Pelliot
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Yangguan
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Yueyaquan
Gallery
Image:Sand dunes (1).jpg, The Singing Sand Dunes on the eastern edge of the Kumtag Desert near Dunhuang.
Image:20060424083413.jpg, Sculpture in Dunhuang, after a mural in Mogao Caves, depicting an Apsara playing the pipa behind her back ().
Image:Dunhuang airport 9573.JPG, Dunhuang Airport
Dunhuang Mogao International Airport is an airport serving the city of Dunhuang in Gansu Province, China. The airport was formerly known as Dunhuang Airport until June 2020.
Airlines and destinations