Description of scenic spots

To go to Dunhuang, there are two must-see spots. One is the Mogao Grottoes. The other is Mingsha Mountain.

Tickets for Mingsha Mountain Scenic Area can be reused within two days. The time to watch the sunrise in the scenic spot is from 6: 00 to 8: 30; The time to watch the sunset is 18 to 2 1. Because I only plan to stay in Dunhuang for one night, I arranged to go to Mingsha Mountain early in the morning, have something to eat at noon, then go to Mogao Grottoes, and then go to Mingsha Mountain to watch the sunset at night.

Mingsha Mountain in Dunhuang, Shapotou in Zhongwei County, Ningxia, Xiangshawan in Dalad Banner, Inner Mongolia, and Mingsha Mountain in Barkun, Xinjiang are collectively called the four Mingsha Mountains in China. The Mingsha Mountain in Dunhuang was first seen in the literature, but the feeling at that time was very different from today. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, Li Daoyuan recorded in the Notes on Water Classics that there is Mingsha Mountain in the South Qili of Dunhuang, so it is also called sandbar. "History of Hexi in Sui and Tang Dynasties" records: Shazhou, the weather is inscrutable, that is, there is shaming, which is heard in the city (now Dunhuang City). People who swim in Shashan have few friends, or they are afraid to walk before swimming. ...

Climb the sand dune of Mingsha Mountain 100 meters, and you can have a panoramic view of Crescent Spring, Yueming Pavilion and Yue Quan Guliu. Looking north, not far away is the screamo temple related to many legends. According to the inscriptions, inscriptions and Dunhuang suicide notes in Mogao Grottoes, Leiyin Temple was called "Xianyan Temple" in the Western Jin Dynasty, "Ancient Leiyin Temple in the Western Heaven" in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, "Great Sage Xianyan Temple" in the Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty, "Huang Qing Temple" in the Yuan Dynasty and "Leiyin Temple" in the Qing Dynasty. However, the specific temple site is not clear, and it is roughly along the road from Crescent Spring in the west to Mogao Grottoes in the east. 1987, after the successful application of the Mogao grottoes, the government separated the cultural relics protection area from religious activities and allocated land in Yueyaquan town for the construction of temples. From 65438 to 0990, monks Di Cheng and lay man Cao Man Yuchun began to raise funds to build temples. Now, Leiyin Temple is already a deep and wide hall with strong incense.

Dunhuang is located at the eastern edge of Kumtag Desert, the westernmost end of Hexi Corridor, and the extremely arid place in China. However, in this vast desert, there have been two floods for thousands of years. One is the torrent of business travel; The other is the torrent of ideas. The torrent of business travel was interrupted by war many times, but the torrent of thought never stopped. An Shigao, Zhilou Gao Jia, Zhu Fahu, Faxian, Kumarajiva and Xuanzang all left indelible footprints here. In the Tang Dynasty, it was not only a lush Dunhuang oasis for thousands of years, but also a blessed land and a world-class religious and cultural shrine.

If life is a trek, it doesn't matter how slow you walk. The key is not to lose deep feelings along the way, so that there will be enough excitement.

In the spring of the seventeenth year of Zhenguan in Tang Dynasty (643), Xuanzang declined the detention of the King of Rings and the monks of Nalanduo Temple. With 520 clips of 657 Buddhist scriptures, he went north to Pakistan, passed through Afghanistan, crossed the Pamirs, returned to China along the southern line of Tarim Basin, and returned to Chang 'an on 18 two years later, with a journey of more than 50,000 miles. According to the Records of the Western Regions of Datang written by Xuanzang's oral disciple, he passed through Mingsha Mountain in Dunhuang on his return trip.

Trekking may be the fate of Xuanzang's founding school. 13 years old went to Luoyang Jingtu Temple to study Buddhism. 10 years later, in the fifth year of Tang Gaozu (622), Li Yuan began his long journey. According to the The biography of Master Sanzang written by disciple Huili, he started from Chang 'an and traveled to Chengdu, Jingzhou (now Jiangling, Hubei), Yangzhou, Suzhou, Xiangzhou (now Anyang, Henan) and Zhaozhou (now Zhaoxian, Hebei). Returning to Hongfu Temple in Chang 'an, I sought advice from two masters, Chang Fa and Monk Debate, and was known as a "Thousand-Li Buddhist".

Sitting on the sand ridge of Mingsha Mountain, which is more than 100 meters high, the scenery under the sand dunes gradually recedes, and the noise of tourists is blown away by the cool wind. Only the tinkling camel bells are particularly pleasing to the ear, as if they had crossed the distant time and space, and brought us bit by bit to the hikers, especially to the affectionate monk Xuanzang. Mr. Gu Sui, a master of modern literature and history, told a story in Su Xin's ci. When Xuanzang was in Nalanduo Temple, he saw an oriental fan and was emotionally shocked, which made him sick. ...

Be integrated with Buddha. It was Xuanzang who realized in his barefoot trek alone in the wilderness that people are sad, painful and fearful, while Buddha is compassionate, happy and aboveboard. Without deep feelings, people will not have real feelings and will not become lofty.

Mingsha Mountain Scenic Area is close to Mogao Grottoes, but even if you want to go sincerely, it is impossible! At present, you can only take a car ferry.