This trip relies on my initial solo trip to Gansu province China in 2017 and I did 40 Hours Train Journey Dunhuang To Shanghai. I started my journey from Shanghai railway terminal to Zhangye West railway terminal by train and the train journey time was 27 hours to reach Zhangye, then Zhangye to Dunhuang town in Gansu that is eight hours journey by slow train. This is 40 Hours Train Journey from Dunhuang To Shanghai is the return time from Gansu to Shanghai.
Zhangye is a small city in Gansu province with stunning mountains scenery. you’ll be able to get in town by Plane, by Train, by bus or your own personal vehicle.
This was my first time booking a hotel/hostel and I have no idea how to do that. Foreigners can’t stay at any hotel/hostel in China if hotels do not have a permit from the Government. For booking cheap hotels/hostels link is available – click here
Also, Read – Top 10 tips before travelling to China
A girl came to find me in the hostel as she listened from someone that one foreigner also staying there. She was fluent in English and others can’t speak English. She helped me a lot by train tickets booking of 40 hours train journey from Dunhuang To Shanghai, also she cancelled some tickets and refund tickets from the ticket counter. As a foreigner, you have to be good at Chinese while refunding your ticket at the ticket counter.
The next day firstly I visited a local food market and then went to see a temple.
Dafo Temple (Giant Buddha Temple)
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Dafo Temple (Giant Buddha Temple) it’s the biggest Chinese wooden made Buddha that lay on the ground, 34.5 m long and 7.5 m high. This temple is that the purported birthplace of the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. The entry fees of Giant Buddha Temple are RMB 40 for adults while children and students can pay half.
Zhangye National Geological Park
Zhangye National earth science (Geological) Park, Rainbow Mountains named in English, this is often a park 40 km from Zhangye wherever can see stunning and amazing landscapes. The layers of multi-coloured rocks within the mountains same as sounds like a rainbow once the descending actually spectacular. It is one of the tourist attractions of Zhangye, Gansu province. The entry fee + shuttle bus fee makes a ticket fee of aprox. RMB 80.
Matisi Temple
Matisi Temple or Mati Si is a huge park full of scary temples, fantastic grottos, and different kinds of Chinese statues there. We went in July which is the rainy season. We didn’t get permission to climb to the scary temples, which are some inside the mountain and outside the mountains.
Dunhuang City, Gansu
Dunhuang is not a big city, I explored it by walking almost the whole city. It is a county-level city located in Northwestern Gansu province, Western China. It is a very beautiful city, people are helping and I didn’t see any foreigners in the city.
Cresent Lake
A lake is located around 6 km south of the city of Dunhuang in Gansu, China. The lake is inside the desert. The surrounding deserts are very popular for tourists, you can make fun by riding camels and all-terrain rides including Helicopter rides too. The public bus takes a fare of RMB 2.
Mogao Caves
It is also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, making a system of 500 temples in the 25 km southeast of the centre of Dunhuang, located on Silk Road, in Gansu province, China. The entry of Mogao cave is too expensive. It’s cost RMB 200 per person.
Dunhuang Museum
Dunhuang Museum is a museum in Dunhuang city, Gansu, China. It is located aprox 1 km from the city. You can go on a walk to visit and usually, the museum is closed every Monday. Entry is free in the museum. Dunhuang Museum contains a number of Chinese and Tibetan items such as manuscripts from cave 17 of Mogao Caves and domestic items.
Dunhuang to Shanghai distance is about 3200 km, and the train takes 39 hours. Firstly, I booked a train from Dunhuang to Xian, here is the terminal of the train, because of no direct train for Shanghai and then Xian to Shanghai. I think I travelled for two days on a train with 4 hours break.
