Atlas of China
Ürümqi to Dunhuang 乌鲁木齐 – 敦煌
Door to door, the flight comes out ahead: about 4 hours, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train, one changeat Jiayuguan | 9 h 21 minD576 + D2749 | 9½ hours | about ¥445 | |
| FlightÜrümqi Tianshan (URC) → Dunhuang Mogao (DNH) | 1 h 25 minin the air | 4 hours | about ¥450varies by day | 1 |
By train
No direct train runs. The quickest rail route changes at Jiayuguan: D576 from Ürümqi to Jiayuguan South (6 h 6 min), then D2749 on to Dunhuang (2 h 29 min), 9 h 21 min in all with the wait, about ¥445 in standard class.
Dunhuang: Only a few D trains a day (via Lanzhou to Xi'an and Yinchuan); most visitors fly or change at Liuyuan South on the main high-speed line.
By air
One nonstop flight a day from Ürümqi Tianshan (URC) to Dunhuang Mogao (DNH), 1 h 25 min in the air, with Tianjin Airlines. One flies back. Door to door, with the airports at each end, count about 4 hours; fares vary by day and are typically about ¥450.
At the other end
Featured places around Dunhuang in Jiuquan.
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Mogao Caves 莫高窟
A thousand years of Buddhist murals in desert cliff caves on the Silk Road
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Crescent Lake & Singing Sand Dunes 鸣沙山月牙泉
A crescent-shaped spring among towering dunes, right on the edge of town
Around Ürümqi: Heavenly Lake of Tianshan.
On the map
Open either city on the illustrated map, or put both in a trip and let the planner lay out the days and the legs between them, with the same tables these numbers come from.
Book
About Ürümqi · Jiuquan, with Dunhuang · Where Ürümqi reaches in a day · All routes
Trains are every direct train on 2026-10-28 or 2026-11-11 in the 12306 timetable, with standard-class fares; one weekday, so weekend and holiday services differ, and the fastest train may not run every day. Flights are the airlines' schedules for 2026-10-28, plus routes Wikipedia lists for small airports. Drives are routed on OpenStreetMap roads (extract of 2026-10-21) where the pair was routed, else estimated from the distance. Door-to-door times add about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time to a flight. How to book is in the guide to trains and 12306; the rail times are open data on the data page.