Dunhuang

Geography
- Located in West China, at the western end of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province
- Converging point of 3 provinces: Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang
- Total area: 31,200 km2 (6.88% of Gansu Province)
- High in the north & south, ,low in the middle, sloping from west to northeast
- Average altitude: less than 1200 meters, in town proper: 1138 meters
- At the edge of Taklamakhan Desert
- Adjacent in south to Qilian Mountains
and in north to Mazong Mountain and
remaining part of Tianshan Mountains
- Large areas of saline and alkaline soil,
salt lands and Yardan landform regions
- Adjacent to the Dang River and the
Shule River Gobi oasis
History
- History of more than 20000 years
- One of “河西四郡” during the Han dynasty
- Known as “Shachou” during the T’ang dynasty
- Well-known for its junction function of the ancient Silk Road
- Also an important military centre, trade centre and Buddhist’s centre

Famous Sites
- Historic sites: Mogao Grottoes, Yunlin Grotoes, East & West Thousand-buddha
Grotoes, the Yang Pass and the Yumen Pass
- Natural sceneries: Whistling Sand Hill, the Cresent-moon Spring
 City Planning
- A walled city in older times
- In July, 1979, There’s a serious flooding such that the whole city is destroyed
- The city was re-planned and rebuilt in a totally different way
- New city planning: Centering the “花壇” with a statue of “反彈琵琶伎樂天”,
4 main streets extending from the centre point, with most facilities alongside

City planning of Dunhuang in Ching dynasty (upper) and that in 1989 (lower)
Detailed map of city planning nowadays
Location of Dunhuang city