Unique Beijing Tours · Dunhuang
A private guide and car take you into the Gobi northwest of Dunhuang: the Jade Gate fort of Yumen Pass, the Han dynasty wall of earth and reeds, and the wind-cut yardangs of the Yadan geopark. Pick it for the yardangs at the end of the road, with the entry fees and both park buses sorted for you.
This is the long desert day. Yumen Pass sits about 90 km northwest of Dunhuang and the Yadan National Geopark 160 to 180 km out, and the drive from the Han wall to Yadan alone takes about 1.5 hours. Most of the 6 to 8 hours is spent in the car. The listing gives 2 hours at Yumen Pass, where a battery bus links Xiaofangpan, the square fort of rammed earth, with the other ruins, an hour at the Great Wall of the Han dynasty, and 2 hours at Yadan, where the compulsory park bus runs between viewpoints.
Unique Beijing Tours includes the entrance fees and both battery buses. That matters: the Yumen shuttle alone is about CNY 50, and the small-group Gobi tour leaves it out. Your guide meets you in the lobby with a name sign. Both reviewers had the same guide, Cathy, and both praised her stories; one couple started the tour after a morning at the Mogao Caves and changed the pickup point at the last minute.
One thing to settle before you go: lunch. The overview says lunch is included, the exclusion list says meals are not. Ask the operator in writing. And the $279 from-price is the per-person rate for the largest group, so a couple pays more each.
Your guide meets you in the hotel lobby holding your name sign. Pick the start time at checkout.
About 90 km out. The battery bus takes you to Xiaofangpan, the square earth fort known as the Jade Gate, and the ruins around it.
A low wall built under the Han dynasty from layers of earth and reeds, with beacon towers along it.
Deeper into the desert, 160 to 180 km from Dunhuang in all.
Park buses stop at the main yardangs, ridges of clay carved by the wind. Then the long drive back to town.
★★★★★We had started the tour after the visit of Mogao Caves. They were flexible about the pick up location and we could change in the last minute. Cathy told us a lot of stories about the Dunhuang area. Yadan is just speechless stunning. Thank you!
★★★★★A truly excellent day out and a lovely memory. The desert is well worth visiting - really splendid - fresh air, clean environment, blue skies, interesting rock formations and historical ruins. [...] Cathy, the guide, was very friendly and knowledgeable. Her stories brought The Gobi Desert and its ruins to life!
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About 160 to 180 km. Yumen Pass is about 90 km out, and the drive from the Han wall to Yadan takes about 1.5 hours, so expect most of the 6 to 8 hours in the car.
Yes. The listing includes the entrance fee and the battery buses at both Yumen Pass and Yadan. Gratuities and accommodation are excluded.
The listing contradicts itself: the overview says lunch is included, the exclusion list says meals are not. Ask the operator before you book, and bring snacks either way.
One reviewer started it after a Mogao visit, and the operator moved the pickup point at short notice. It makes for a very long day. We'd give the Gobi its own day; see how many days to plan for Dunhuang.
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Yumen Pass, the Han wall ruins and the Yadan yardangs in one private day, entry fees and park buses included.
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