Mingsha Shan and Crescent Lake

The dunes start abruptly at the southern edge of Dunhuang, rising to well over a hundred metres, and in a hollow between them lies a small crescent of water that has not dried out despite the desert around it. A temple pavilion stands beside the pool. Visitors climb the dune ridge on wooden ladder-steps laid into the sand, mostly for the view down onto the crescent and out across the ridges, then come down by sliding or walking. Camel trains carry people along the base in long strings. This was the last stop before the desert crossing on the Silk Road, and the oasis logic of the place is still obvious.

What you actually see

• Crescent Lake - the curved spring-fed pool in the hollow, with its temple pavilion beside it.
• The dune ridge - the climb on wooden steps to the crest above the lake.
• Camel trains - the long strings of camels crossing the sand at the foot of the dunes.
• Sunset over the ridges - the hour when the dune faces divide sharply into light and shade.

When to go

Late afternoon and sunset, without question. The sand is too hot to walk on in the middle of a summer day and the light is flat. Spring and autumn are the most bearable seasons overall, though sandstorms in spring occasionally shut the site. Shoe covers to keep sand out are sold at the gate and are worth the small cost.

Honest expectations

It is busy and commercialised, with camel rides, buggies and sledding all charged on top of the entry price, and the wait for a camel can be long. The dune climb is hard work in loose sand. The lake has shrunk over the years and is smaller than the photographs suggest. Sand gets into everything you carry.

Nearby

The Mogao caves are half an hour away, with the Yadan landforms further west.