Around China in 100 Days

[Roadrunner]

Bulongjixiang to Dunhuang – Day 56

We got up around midday and before we started we had to visit the repair shop to get Lulu’s battery and tyre looked at. All the guy could do was fix the tyre. The battery would have to wait until Dunhuang.

After a late brunch I sat out on the steps and set about entertaining some of the local school kids that had stopped for a gawk. I didn’t need to do much really.



Acting on the tips from the repairman, we headed in the general direction of where the G312 should be with help from the GPS and soon we were on a road hugging the expressway and used by the trucks with which we had a love-hate relationship. It looked to be heading to Guazhou and hopefully we would find the road that would lead us to Dunhuang.

Sure enough, after an hour or so, we found the turnoff and were back onto a flat, black strip of tarmac. The road was great, if a little boring, all the way to the outskirts of Dunhuang.



Apart from the endless wasteland to the right, heading out into the Tarim basin, and Helan-shan style mountains to our right, we saw a couple of mounds of packed dirt in the vague shape of a tower. These were the early rammed-earth watch towers of the Han dynasty built around 2000 years ago and were used to guard this part of the silk road.



Lulu had been told about a hostel to stay at just outside of the town near the sand dunes; The Dunhuang Zephyr International Youth Hostel. We arrived at a great looking place with an open air loft restaurant and excellent music playing. It had a distinctly Indian feel and I felt very comfortable there. I had to watch their pet dogs though. They were a bit nippy.

For dinner we had some great noddles with vegetables and sauce and very tender mutton washed down with a hard earned beer.