Dunhuang Administrative Divisions

Dunhuang (敦煌市) is a county-level city administered by Jiuquan City in Gansu Province, located at the western end of the Hexi Corridor. As one of the most internationally recognized Silk Road destinations in China, Dunhuang combines UNESCO cultural heritage, ancient frontier passes, desert landscapes, oasis agriculture and a highly developed cultural-tourism industry.

Administratively, Dunhuang has a relatively simple structure. The city directly administers nine towns, with no subdistricts or township-level xiang (乡). Recent official information published in 2026 confirms that Dunhuang has 9 towns, 56 administrative villages and 10 urban communities. The municipal government is based in Shazhou Town, the historic and modern urban centre.

Dunhuang covers approximately 26,700 square kilometres, but only a relatively small proportion consists of oasis and settled agricultural land. This explains the distinctive administrative geography: population, farming and accommodation are concentrated around the central oasis, while enormous desert and Gobi areas extend toward Yumen Pass, Yangguan Pass and the Dunhuang Yardang landscape.

Administrative Geography and Tourism Development

Tourism resources are not distributed evenly among Dunhuang’s nine towns. Shazhou Town functions as the urban tourism hub; Yueyaquan Town contains the principal desert-tourism and homestay cluster; Mogao Town is closely associated with the eastern cultural-tourism corridor and Mogao heritage; and Yangguan Town represents the western Silk Road frontier landscape.

The other towns—Qili, Suzhou, Zhuanqukou, Guojiabao and Huangqu—play stronger roles in agriculture, petroleum services, rural tourism, food production and the ecological protection of the Dunhuang oasis. Together they form the agricultural and settlement belt that supports the city’s major tourism economy.

Shazhou Town: Downtown Dunhuang and the Main Tourism Base

Shazhou Town (沙州镇) is the seat of the Dunhuang municipal government and the city’s main commercial, accommodation and visitor-service centre. Most travellers stay here because hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, shopping streets and transport services are concentrated within the urban area.

The town is associated with the modern cultural side of Dunhuang tourism, including museums, cultural performance venues, night markets and urban Silk Road experiences. Shazhou Night Market, Dunhuang’s food and handicraft scene and many of the city’s evening cultural activities make this the natural base for first-time visitors.

Although Dunhuang’s internationally famous monuments generally lie outside the compact downtown area, Shazhou is the transport hub from which visitors travel to Mogao Caves, Mingsha Mountain, Yangguan, Yumen Pass and the Yardang landscapes.

Yueyaquan Town: Desert Tourism and Rural Homestays

Yueyaquan Town (月牙泉镇) lies immediately south of central Dunhuang and takes its name from the famous Crescent Spring. It contains the Mingsha Mountain–Crescent Spring Scenic Area, one of Dunhuang’s two national 5A tourism areas and one of the most recognizable desert landscapes in China.

Yueyaquan Village has developed into one of Dunhuang’s leading rural tourism communities. Its tourism economy includes boutique homestays, farm restaurants, desert photography, cultural study programmes, camping and outdoor experiences. Official cultural-tourism information identifies Yueyaquan Village as one of China’s key rural tourism villages and notes that it lies only about six kilometres from central Dunhuang.

The area also includes local cultural sites such as Leiyin Temple and traditional rural landscapes along the edge of the desert.

Mogao Town: Dunhuang Art and the Eastern Cultural Corridor

Mogao Town (莫高镇) occupies the eastern side of the Dunhuang oasis and takes its name from the world-famous Mogao Caves. It forms the eastern gateway of the city and is closely connected with the route between downtown Dunhuang, the airport and the Mogao cultural-tourism area.

Beyond the grotto heritage, Mogao Town has increasingly developed art education, rural tourism and cultural study programmes. The “Dunhuang Art Tribe” project integrates artists’ studios, craft workshops, galleries, food experiences and cultural education, creating a contemporary extension of Dunhuang’s traditional artistic identity.

The town also has an important agricultural role, especially fruit cultivation, which increasingly supports farm tourism and cultural experiences.

Yangguan Town: Ancient Silk Road and Oasis Culture

Yangguan Town (阳关镇) lies southwest of central Dunhuang and is the principal gateway to Yangguan Pass, one of the most famous ancient frontier passes on the Silk Road.

The wider Yangguan cultural landscape includes the ancient pass, beacon-tower remains, sections of old Silk Road routes, historical settlement sites and the desert-oasis environment. The Yangguan Scenic Area is currently rated as a national 4A attraction.

Yangguan is also one of Dunhuang’s most important grape-growing areas. Vineyards, wine culture, cold-water fish production and oasis agriculture increasingly complement its archaeological and Silk Road tourism.

Dunhuang has been integrating Yangguan and Yumen Pass as a larger heritage tourism zone, with work underway to strengthen their combined tourism infrastructure and cultural interpretation.

Qili Town: Petroleum Heritage and Western Urban Development

Qili Town (七里镇) lies west of central Dunhuang and has a distinctive industrial background. It developed as an important residential and service base associated with the Qinghai Oilfield, giving this part of Dunhuang a very different identity from the historic tourism centre.

Today Qili combines petroleum-industry heritage, residential communities and oasis agriculture. Fruit cultivation, particularly grapes, peaches and other orchard products, contributes to rural tourism and seasonal agricultural experiences.

For specialist tours, the town can also be interpreted through the themes of energy development, modern industrial history and the transformation of an oasis city in western China.

Suzhou Town: Agriculture and Oasis Countryside

Suzhou Town (肃州镇) lies close to the main Dunhuang urban area and is primarily an agricultural township. Greenhouse vegetables, fruit production and rural settlements form the core of its landscape.

Rather than containing one major internationally famous monument, Suzhou is useful for rural tourism, agricultural study tours and local food experiences. Its cultivated fields and shelterbelts also demonstrate how farming communities survive in the extreme desert environment surrounding the Dunhuang oasis.

In 2026, Dunhuang’s agricultural tourism promotion highlighted Suzhou particularly for greenhouse vegetables and locally grown produce.

Zhuanqukou Town: Rural Tourism on the Urban Fringe

Zhuanqukou Town (转渠口镇) is situated around the northern and northeastern urban fringe. Its proximity to downtown has encouraged the development of suburban agriculture, leisure farms and rural tourism.

The town produces strawberries, tomatoes and other greenhouse crops and can be incorporated into educational programmes focusing on desert agriculture, water-efficient cultivation and modern oasis farming.

Its greatest tourism value lies in supporting short rural experiences close to the city rather than functioning as an independent major sightseeing destination.

Guojiabao Town: Agriculture and Rural Culture

Guojiabao Town (郭家堡镇) occupies part of the agricultural oasis surrounding Dunhuang. Its tourism resources are primarily related to countryside landscapes, traditional farming, red dates, livestock and local food.

Recent agricultural promotion has particularly associated Guojiabao with red dates and Tan sheep, making food culture and agricultural experiences potential themes for rural and student tours.

For international travellers, this area is most meaningful when incorporated into a broader programme exploring how Dunhuang’s oasis communities use irrigation, shelterbelts and agriculture to survive beside one of China’s driest desert environments.

Huangqu Town: Oasis Agriculture and Desert-Edge Landscapes

Huangqu Town (黄渠镇) is another important agricultural area of the Dunhuang oasis. Melons, sunflower seeds, peppers and other crops are characteristic local products.

The town’s open agricultural landscapes provide an opportunity to understand oasis farming, rural life and ecological protection, especially for agricultural or environmental study tours. Dunhuang’s 2026 agricultural promotion described Huangqu through its diverse local produce and agricultural achievements.

Major Tourism Resources by Administrative Area

It is important to note that enormous western and northwestern heritage landscapes such as Yumen Pass and the Dunhuang Yardang area are best understood as municipality-wide desert tourism resources rather than ordinary compact town-centre attractions. Dunhuang’s settlement pattern is concentrated in the oasis while its administrative territory stretches far into the surrounding Gobi and desert.

Dunhuang Administrative Division Structure

Dunhuang itself is the only county-level administrative unit covered here: it is a county-level city under Jiuquan City. Beneath the city level are exactly nine statutory towns. Current information from 2026 confirms 9 towns, 56 administrative villages and 10 communities.

Some statistical databases also separately list State-run Dunhuang Farm (国营敦煌农场) and the Qinghai Oilfield Administration Living Base (青海石油管理局生活基地). These are special statistical or management units rather than additional statutory towns, so they are not counted among Dunhuang’s nine town-level governments.

Complete Administrative Divisions of Dunhuang

The current town names and codes are consistent with administrative-division data updated through the end of 2025.