4.5Gansu Provincial Museum(126 reviews) - Fun for just under acouple of hours Thursday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM History Museums
Great collection of fossils and some lovely bronze age horses! There is an entire room dedicated to just pottery from pre-bronze age which was a bit repetitive for me but to each their own! The fossil/dinosaur rooms were great with good mix of English signs. There are entire rooms made up to look like some of the great sights of the silk roads which was different! But fun. Entrance was tricky as the tickets are only available through their Chinese only app and they were quite rude about allowing me entrance dispute my various green codes and recent NAT negative result so be warned!See more..
4.0Dunhuang Museum(85 reviews) - Good place to understand the history of Silk road Thursday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM History Museums
I don't know why there were not many visitors here, I found the place very informative, all visitors should come here to understand the history of Dunhuang before heading to the Mogao Caves. The best part is: there have the replica of the Mogao cave that allows you to take photo.See more..
3.5Yangguan Museum(12 reviews) - Don't miss this place! Thursday: 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM History Museums
The reconstructed fort & museum was amazing. Very well planned, clean & interesting. We had a great time climbing the walls!See more..
4.5Library Cave Heritage Museum(7 reviews) - One of the most interesting museums that I've seen Thursday: 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM History Museums
Stroll the hallways of this museum and enjoy the artifacts, pictures of the archaeological digs done over the last 100 years, look at manuscripts that our ancestors wrote 1500 years ago, 1000 years ago and so on. There are manuscripts in Hebrew, Persian, Chinese and other languages that make this ancient silk road city so interesting.See more..
3.5Ancient Animal Fossil Museum(3 reviews) - Interesting museum Thursday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM History Museums Very interesting museum with unique mammal fossil. Recommended for those that are passionate about paleontology or just interested in natural history. Avoid visiting on weekends or during public holidays.See more..
4.5Dunhuang Anxi Qiaowan City(3 reviews) - Magnificent but at present not easy to reach Thursday: 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM Geologic Formations • History Museums These caves which go by various names (Thousand-Buddha Gap, Yulin Caves/Grottoes) are magnificent and, in my view just as good as those at Mogao. However, at the time of writing (4/17) it is something of a challenge to reach them. But, my goodness it was worth the effort. The presentation is not on the same level as the introduction at Mogao. Indeed, there is no introduction but the caves are marvellous. The road is gravel most of the way but it looks as though it is being upgraded. As a result there were less than 100 visitors. The caves are either side of the river where it runs through a canyon. The paintings are remarkably well preserved. 43 caves are from the Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Western Xia, Uiger, Yuan and Qing dynasties. We were only a small group and so received almost personal attention and the caves were much bigger than Mogao and very cold once inside. Some of the black ink drawings were exquisite. There has been some restoration carried out some 100 years ago to the figures and to the paintings so the colours are quite bright but a great deal of the art is original. There is little in the way of facilities although a new visitor centre is being built. I would suggest one takes one's own torch although the guide will have one but the caves are large. Clearly the site will, in due course, be on the tourist route but I would suggest one visits whilst it is so simple and charming.See more..
3.5Hadapu Long March Memorial(2 reviews) - A Red Army1935-1936 rest and supply station Thursday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM History Museums
Founded in 1978-1979, this is a memorial to the long march and successes of the Red Army. Over the 1935-1936 period, Hadapu was used as a rest and supply station, including refueling, as it was sometimes referred to as a gas station. Since 1985, it is also referred to as “Gansu province patriotism education model base.” That is to say, it is a national patriotism education demonstration base. This memorial is very tourist friendly, as most signage is in Chinese and English. The Hadapu Memorial Hall for the Long March of the Red Army is situated in Xiajie Village, Hadapu Township, Dangchang County, at the foot of Minshan Mountain. It is at State Road 212 line, 35 km south from Dangchang and 35 kilometers away from Dingxi County. I rate it as “average,” and not a “must see” location. Stop if it is on your travel route, as it was for me. Otherwise, I’d seek other attractions.See more..
Excellent museum that’s not well known but definitely worth a visit when in Zhangye. Close to the reclining Buddha. Artifacts of different periods are well displayed and explained in Chinese, often with good English translation. The museum is free, just bring your passport for registration. Floor -1 has a nice little exhibition on the Silk Road and Dunhuang heritage.See more..
5.0Jiayuguan City Museum(1 review) - Finding out about China's remote steel city Thursday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Spent 1-2 hours History Museums People go to Jiayuguan to see the western end of the Great Wall. But the city itself was born in the 1950s, on the back of vast local deposits of coal and iron ore. The city museum explains how the city started, what it was like in the early days and where it is going. All the introductions, and the object labels, are in English as well as Chinese. Highlights include a massive model of the city and reconstructions of steelworkers' homes in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Entry is free, but you need to pick up a ticket at the gatehouse.See more..
