Located on Yangguan East Road in Dunhuang City, Dunhuang Museum, built in 1984, was originally a county cultural center and is now a local museum focusing on the exhibition of the historical relics.
Facing south, the museum covers a total area of more than 3,000 square meters (about 3,588 square yards), with a building area of 2,400 square meters (about 2,870 square yards). It is a half-underground and three-storied building, in front of which there is a group of sculptures symbolizing the leading of camels by people walking on the Silk Road. Also, there are murals of heavenly horse and 'Flying Apsaras' painted on the arched gateway of the third floor.
The museum now has a collection of more than 4,000 cultural relics, divided into three parts and exhibited in four exhibition halls. The exhibition hall in the east of the second floor is the 'Han Great Wall Exhibition', where are shown the Han Great Wall, beacons, passes, ancient coins and bamboo and wooden Slips of ancient Dunhuang. The exhibition hall in the west of the second floor is the showroom of extraordinary calligraphic works and paintings of the celebrities and artists. Both the eastern and western exhibition halls on the third floor are the 'Exhibition of Dunhuang Historical Cultural Relics', showing more than 670 cultural relics. They mainly reflect the important position of Dunhuang on the Silk Road during the Han (202 BC - 220 AD) and Tang (618 - 907) Dynasties, serving as a window for the visitors to catch a glimpse of Dunhuang in former times.
Dunhuang Museum is especially famous for its collection of high-relief unicorn bricks, which are very imposing. The carved unicorns carved are like gallant horses which are neighing. In addition, the collections of the Buddhist scriptures written in Tibetan are also treasures in Chinese ancient calligraphy such as The Lotus Sutra and Mahaparinirvana Sutra.
A new site of the museum has been opened to the public in May, 2012. Covering 7,500 square meters (8,970 square yards), the new museum consists of 6 exhibition sections and houses over 14,000 pieces of cultural relics which involve in culture, art, military, agriculture and geography.
Entrance Fee: Free
Opening Hours: 08:00 - 18:00
Best Time to Visit: May to Oct.
Transportation: The Dunhuang Museum is located in the city center, so it is very easy to get there. Visitors can either take buese or taxies to the museum.
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