(EN) Dunhuang (Dūnhuáng in ancient times meaning 'Blazing Beacon') is a county-level city (pop. 187,578 (2000)) in northwestern Gansu province, Western China. It was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road and is best known for the nearby Dunhuang Caves. It has also been known at times as Shāzhōu (沙州), or 'City of Sands', "or Dukhan as the Turkis call it." Dunhuang is situated in a rich oasis containing Crescent Lake and Mingsha Shan (鸣沙山, meaning "Singing-Sand Mountain"), named after the sound of the wind whipping off the dunes, the singing sand phenomenon. Dunhuang commands a strategic position at the crossroads of the ancient Southern Silk Route and the main road leading from India via Lhasa to Mongolia and Southern Siberia,[1] as well as controlling the entrance to the narrow Hexi Corridor, which led straight to the heart of the north Chinese plains and the ancient capitals of Chang'an (today known as Xi'an) and Luoyang. Administratively, the county-level city of Dunhuang is part of the prefecture-level city of Jiuquan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunhuang VALPARD http://valpardfilms.awardspace.com/ Map for China: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zB1TUeC1rIPg.k41cHxqmip3I

• published: 20 Sep 2014
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