Dunhuang Museum
敦煌博物馆
A free general museum in the city that uses Han bamboo slips, Library Cave manuscripts and Silk Road artifacts to tell Dunhuang’s two-thousand-year history.
The Dunhuang Museum is on Yangguan Middle Road in the city. Its exterior is modeled on a Han-dynasty frontier gate. The galleries follow a timeline, grouped into ancient times, the Han dynasty, the Wei-Jin to Sui-Tang periods, and the Song-Yuan-Ming-Qing periods. Exhibits include Han bamboo slips unearthed at Yumen Pass and Xuanquan Post Station, Wei-Jin tomb brick paintings, manuscripts and Buddhist scriptures from the Library Cave, Silk Road trade artifacts, and replicas of Mogao Cave interiors. Admission is free, but you must show your ID card. Plan one to one and a half hours. Visiting before Mogao helps you understand Dunhuang’s history. It is about a 15-minute walk from Shazhou Night Market.
Opening hours
Approx. 09:00–17:30 (may be closed Mondays; check official site)
Nearby sights
- White Horse Pagoda
- Reverse-Pipa Statue & Danghe Riverside
- Dunhuang Night Market
- Dunhuang Grand Show
- Leiyin Temple
- Mingsha Mountain & Crescent Lake
- Dunhuang Music & Dance Immersive Show
- Encore Dunhuang