Past resonates at ancient site on Silk Road

In the Dunhuang grottoes and surrounding areas in Gansu province, visitors can hear voices from the dust and sample the flavors of life long ago

Bumping one's way slowly on the back of a camel across the desert of Dunhuang, Gansu province, a modern-day visitor can easily imagine the past, when traders trudged along the ancient Silk Road, chatting and laughing in good spirits as they expected a good harvest.

Dunhuang, which means "grand glory" in English, is a major gateway linking China with the West. Traces of exchanges between different civilizations can be found in the mottled murals and Buddhist statues of its iconic Mogao Grottoes, the rolling sandstone of Echoing-Sand Mountain, a quiet oasis in the Gobi Desert, mysterious ancient graves and numerous earth-tone ruins. All of this attracts more than 10 million tourist visits from around the world every year.

Zhang Yuping, a taxi driver in Dunhuang, said during peak season in July and August, the small city would be packed with tourists. Room prices at four-star hotels and above would be as high as 1,000 yuan ($154) per night. And he, like the other 1,000 or so local taxi drivers, would work around the clock to serve passengers.

"Some tourists are curious about remote, exotic desert scenery, and some have a strong interest in Buddhist art," he said.

Zhang recalls one of his most memorable clients－an intellectual from Beijing who chartered his car for two days and visited every grotto except the farthest one, Yulin Grottoes, 160 kilometers from downtown, because of a tight travel schedule.

"Ten minutes after I dropped him off at the airport, he called back to say he had canceled the flight and was determined to go to the Yulin Grottoes," Zhang said. "He told me he might not be able to sleep if he just left."

He said the client also paid extra money to see all the specially-protected caves at Mogao Grottoes. Each visit costs 150 to 200 yuan.

The number of tourist visits to the city grew by 20 percent annually during the 2017-19 period, according to He Yanhong, deputy director of the Dunhuang culture, sports, radio, television and tourism bureau. Total tourist visits reached around 7.75 million in 2020, about 60 percent of what it was annually before the coronavirus pandemic. However, October and November last year saw a year-on-year increase, after cross-provincial travel recovered in mid-July, he said.

Dunhuang, one of the first cities in China to open to the West, has long been a port of entry along the ancient Silk Road. It borders the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on the west, beyond which lies Central Asia－Kazakhstan,Uzbekistan and other countries. Farther still lies Europe.

The path to civilization may be strewn with thorns, but the result of the journey has been remarkable. When envoy Zhang Qian was sent by emperor Wu during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) to seek diplomatic alliances with countries and tribes in the West, he passed through Dunhuang and thought it was an important base. So he suggested the emperor to build a city in the barren desert. As officials, soldiers and merchants moved to Dunhuang from inland areas, military fortresses were built at Yangguan Pass and Yumen Pass, and Dunhuang established its name firmly in history.