The off-season at the Mogao Caves is truly amazing!

🔈I will wholeheartedly recommend everyone to rush to the off-season Mogao Caves in November and December!! ㊙️There are three reasons: fewer people! fewer people! fewer people! Which means a better experience! 🧏🏻‍♀️Some pre-trip preparations: 1. As soon as your itinerary is confirmed, use the "Mogao Caves Visit Reservation" app (you can also book tickets for other caves managed by the Dunhuang Academy here) to reserve tickets for the Mogao Caves [General Caves]. It’s best to book the earliest session to give yourself enough time that day! 2. Watch documentaries! The well-known one is "Hexi Corridor," but if you want a better experience while watching, I recommend searching for any documentaries about the caves or Dunhuang! 💁🏻‍♀️A few notes: 1. The Mogao Caves are located within Dunhuang city. It takes about half an hour by taxi from the city to the scenic area. You need to pick up paper tickets at the entrance, so it’s best to arrive early. 2. Have a hearty breakfast and bring some snacks and hot water. The off-season scenic area has little food and is cold. For example, we went at 9 AM and didn’t return to the city until nearly 5 PM, so we were really hungry. 3. The reserved General Caves ticket includes round-trip shuttle bus tickets from the scenic area entrance to the Mogao Caves and two films. Yes, you read that right, there is still some distance from the entrance to the caves. 4. If you want to see the Special Caves, you must get there early! Early! Early! After finishing the General Caves, you need to go to the entrance to buy tickets for the Special Caves. In the off-season, it’s usually possible to get tickets. There are generally two routes, each with 4 Special Caves, and each cave costs 200 RMB per person. How many you see depends on your budget (but generally, people say: since you’re here, why not). 5. If you’re not interested in the Special Caves or don’t want to see them, that’s fine. There are replica caves outside where you can book a professional guide for a detailed explanation (I didn’t go, but I saw some great reviews during my pre-trip research). 6. Another must-do is to visit the cultural and creative shop to buy some local specialties. The only thing I bought was a Mogao Caves art book, which I had shipped home via SF Express right on the spot. 🙆🏼‍♀️About itinerary planning: 1. The Mogao Caves are in the city, so it’s totally fine to arrange a visit to Mingsha Mountain on the same day. But if, like us, you want to see both the General and Special Caves and wander around, you might not have time to also ride camels, climb sand dunes, and watch the sunset at Mingsha Mountain. However, the combination of Mogao Caves + night market is definitely doable. 2. The itinerary in Dunhuang city is suitable for one or two days. Don’t try to add the East or West Line tours because the attractions in the northwest are really quite far apart. 3. If you go in winter, dress warmly. It’s recommended to hire a car or join a day tour group rather than self-driving.