Your biggest choice is whether to base yourself downtown or at the Mingsha dunes. In the city you can pick from a range of moderately priced business hotels along with budget and higher end options. Out at the dunes, conditions are more bucolic, with Charley Johng’s a popular backpacker stop. Many guesthouses offer meals and some will also organize a night under canvas in the desert. Meanwhile if you are visiting Yangguan you might want to consider overnighting in a vineyard.

Charley Johng’s Hostel (敦煌月泉山荘－青年旅舍)

Beside the Mingsha Dune, in the Crescent Moon Lake agricultural area (鸣沙山下,沙生植物园（月牙泉农家园内）

Tel: 937-8833-039, email dhzhzh@163.com; contact Yang Xiaoyang(杨小艳,)mob. 13993733106

Thanks to its foreigner savvy management and a location slap by the Minghsa dunes, Charley Johng’s has become a popular hangout for hipsters. The rustic setup of rooms around an open courtyard makes this a relaxing spot to spend a few days. The hostel offers many services to enrich your Dunhuang stay, including camel treks, bike hire, luggage storage, ticket booking and laundry. Charley Johng’s also runs a smaller downtown hostel at 21 Mingshan Road where many of the same services are available as well as a ‘western’ breakfast (also available to non-residents.)

Dunhuang Hill Resort (敦煌山庄)

5 Shanzhou North Road, 沙洲北路5号

Tel: 937-8882088

Consider this Hong Kong-invested tourist hotel as the luxury option for those wanting to stay near to the Mingsha dune and Cresent Moon spring. The hotel’s 270 rooms make a stylish base for appreciating the desert landscape. Facilities include a coffee shop and bars.

Yingyue Hill Resort (映月山庄)

West of the entrance to Mingsha Hill (鸣沙山月牙泉景区入口西侧)

Tel: 937-8882-888

Among the cluster of guest houses and hostels dotted around the semi-agricultural land of the Mingsha Dune area, Yingyue stands out as being relatively clean, modern and quiet. However the prices here are also higher, comparable to mid-range hotels downtown.

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