When we arrived in Liuyuan (yes, I slept to last possible minute), I awoke to the sound of the train attendants screaming 下雪 (it’s snowing) at one and other and at fellow passengers. For a moment, I tried to convince myself that they were actually muttering 下来 (get down from the train), but moments later, I learned that my initial read was correct; it was snowing and snowing heavily. This made the unpleasant task of negotiating a ride to Dunhuang even more annoying because the touts had the weather on their side (they realized that we’d rather be sitting in their cars than standing in the parking lot). We eventually jumped in another mini-bus on principle and waited for it to fill up.

Around 30 minutes later we were en route. Like the mini-bus the night before, it was unpleasant (should have caved in to the touts); cold, crowded, and smoky (once the driver started smoking, others followed suit for the hell of it).

By the time we arrived at Dunhuang, the snow had turned to rain, but this was still bad news because the Mogao Caves (really, the only reason to go to Dunhuang, for many) aren’t open on rainy days (humidity damages the sculptures/frescos). This meant that we’d be spending at least 2 days there so we got a hotel. The Feitian Hotel wasn’t quite the cheapest on the street because, as the receptionist proudly proclaimed, “[It] is a star hotel!” Only 2 stars, of course, but we liked the sales pitch and the room was ok as well, so we bit.

While I would have been happy staying in all day and resting, my friend was determined to make the most of our time there. And so, he implored me to join him on a trip to the sand mountains (they have a fancier name, I think), Dunhuang’s second (by far) most famous attraction. I suspect he was more enthusiastic than me because, while I had packed for a leisurely May jaunt through the (hot) desert, he had brought all sorts of winter gear that he wanted to try out. Yes, it was very cold and rainy (think, Boston in early April).

As we were walking towards the dunes from our taxi (which dropped us off around 300 meters away), my friend mentioned to me that both of his guidebooks said it was possible to sneak into the dunes and avoid the entrance fee. “If it’s that easy, why not give it a try,” I mused first to myself and then to him. With that approval, my friend lead me down a path to the right (acting like he was an old pro) and along the fence separating the dunes from the rest of China. Five minutes later, he located a spot where there was ample room (and barbed wire!) between the fence and the sand and noted that it would serve as our entry point.

So, we climbed under fence and started to race up a large dune. Within minutes, our pace slowed substantially because climbing in sand is difficult. Then, we looked back and noted that 2 park officials were studying our footprints down below. Neither of us were all that worried by this development because we’d spent enough time in China to know that very few low wage employees would subject themselves to the level of physical exertion necessary to make a bust. Sure enough, within 5 minutes, they had apparently lost interest and retreated.

We eventually reached the summit of that formidable dune and the view was nice. There were lakes, a building, factories in the distance, and an airport on site with an old-school fighter perched at the end of the runway (we didn’t get any pics of the airport or anything man-made because my friend wanted our dune shots to suggest that we were in the middle of nowhere, but I digress).






After a minute of looking around, it was time for the fun to begin, the no-holds barred descent down the backside of the dune. We slid, jumped, rolled, soared… you name it, we did it.







But then, about halfway down, we caught the sounds and the sight of several Chinese guys with megaphones blathering at us in distorted Mandarin; the gist of his message was unmistakable: “You’re busted!”

Fortunately, due to years of careful study, we were both familiar with Hollywood escape techniques so we knew exactly what to do: take to the woods, hop a few fences, run down a gutter, and blend into a private party. What can I say, it worked like clockwork. …..but, I’ll probably pay the $6 if I go back.