NO! as I mentioned in an earlier post - if you are a do-it-yourself type person like me - you must still pay the piper. Regardless of how u get there you still have to get on their Green bus and follow their rules. There are fences and barricades everywhere so you can not deviate from their plans. It is really a terrible expereince. This is how all sites will eventually become whether they have or do NOT have UNESCO status. Pudacuo is not UNESCO, neither is Jade Dragon Mountain in Lijiang but they run it like a UNESCO site. When we went to Baoshan stone city in Lijiang, we still had to pay 80 RMB protection fee and entrance ticket (100) to Jade Mountain just because the minivan drove through the park.

Private cars, taxis and tour buses are NOT allowed in, they just drop you off. Mogao was terrible - do not even have photos that I can see at home after the fact. Best to buy a box of postcards. Yadan was very nice but very expensive and long day - 7 hours back and forth for all 4 sites I listed in an earlier post.

Yadan - is located 180 from Dunhuang and 60 km from Lop Nur, where China tested their nuclear bombs. You can take a bus (120 RMB) that takes you and 44 others to 6 scenic spots including Yadan or you can take a taxi (500 RMB) that only takes where you want to go. 3 hour drive to get there. We arrived at Yadan and the ticket man yelled at us and told us to get on the bus (45 passengers). We got the last 2 empty seats. Tickets are 50 RMB and 70 RMB (120) for Green bus. Our taxi driver waited. The tour takes 1.5 hours and you stop at 4 sites that are roped off and you have 10 minutes to get your pictures. You must get back in your own bus - can not linger and get another bus. If you are lucky you can take some pictures through the bus window but you only get off at the desiganted 4 stops. At one stop there are jeeps that will take you and your party to other areas for the small fee of 400 RMB. No one took them up on their offer.

After 1.5 hours we returned to the visitors center where we saw the next bus loading up for the next tour. The 45 passenger buses do not leave until they are full so the people who arrived just 5 minutes after we did where waiting for 1.5 hours to get on their bus. There are NO smaller buses (30 or 18) to eliminate wait time. Profit is key and buses dont move till they have their 45 lemurs seated in place.

The scenery in Yadan is beautiful but the 3 hour drive to get there and the 1.5 hour rushed tour of 4 sites leaves all disappointed. They play a video in the bus while it is moving and there are some beautiful aerial shots which leave the viewer in awe. Unfortunately, no one can see Yadan from the air so the marketing scam leaves most people angry.

On the way we visited the Han dynasty Wall, very nice, + Yu Men Guan + Yang Guan. These 3 sites can be completed rather quickly, about 30 minutes each. They are not very crowded as people move in and out in 30 minutes so it is easy to get some pictures without tourists if you watch the ebb and flow of tourists.

I have many pictures to keep the memories fresh but over all it is very expensive because of the long distances to get to each location.

The taxi driver has a gas powered car, actually both, oil and gas. He filled his gas tank with 70 RMB which took us there (Yadan) and back on 1 tank (over 400 km). To fill his fuel tank with oil would cost him over 400 RMB. The reason they can charge us only 500 per day is because they use gas. The driver ran his meter the entire time and it came to 824 RMB for the entire trip. We only paid 500 RMB.

More about Mogao Grottoes

Must purchase tickets before day of visit as there are only 200 tickets every hour. Go by car, taxi or tour bus but everyone must disembark and get on the Green Bus. Begin at Mogao Visitors Center which is 3 km from train station. Begin with 2 mandatory movies, 20 minutes each (40 minutes).

Get on Green bus and drive 15 km to Grottoes. 200 people are separated into 20 person groups with their own tour guide.

SIDENOTE - years ago, there were over 700 grottoes. Now there are over 700 locked rooms. The touguide opens a room and 20 people are allowed in. No photos allowed in any grottoes nor while watching the 20 minutes movies.
Tour guide gives 5 minute lecture and points to statue or pictures with flashlight. Tour guide is first one in and last one out. The tour takes 1.5 hours and the public is allowed to see 7 grottoes. After the last visit people are permitted to walk around at their leisure. However, no one is allowed in any of the grottoes because they are immediately locked.

After the first grottoe visit the people started to wait outside rather than be trapped in the tiny grottoe listening to the boring monotone speech. My feeling and that of many others is that one feels disappointed, cheated and angry at the total waste of 200 RMB tickets. A set of colorful postcards or a 35 RMB book with pictures and short historical description is much better.

The BIG picture. My purpose in making this trip is to see the UNESCO sites I listed earlier before the UNESCO (NWO Nazis) take it over completely. The grottoes is a perfect example of things to come.

The old adge of the Customer is always right no longer holds true. The UNESCO motto is - You are lucky we let you in, now shut up and stand in line.

Sidenote: I have been to Pudacuo in ShanGriLa twice. After the second time I will never return again. The first time I drove in and stopped my car along the way to take pictures and walk around. The last time I went it was overpriced tickets and get in the green bus. Only walk in the path and you are lucky if you can get a picture from your window because the bus only stops 3 times.

I will visit the other UNESCO sites (2014) in Gansu before the experience becomes unbearable and similar to the Mogao Gorttoes. I described and added a wikilink for them on a previous post.

Best time to visit grottoes is in morning while sun is facing grottoe. If you go in the afternoon you will get a facefull of sunshine and overexposed pics with Buddha lights.

Yuan Yang received UNESCO status in 2014. The days of driving a car or hiring a driver will be over soon if not already. The Green bus will there soon. No one gets in any more. This is why I am visiting th other UNESCO sites in Gansu before fences and barricades and ticket prices come up. Right now, the 3 other sites in Jiuquan are 30 RMB and Free for another.

Gansu is a desert so anyone who is willing to walk can eventually get to a site and enter free. No longer true. Every scenic spot has been fenced in with hundreds of km of fenceline. Even with a horse or a jeep, one can not get near them anymore.

- It also stops at Jiayuguan I think - does it stop or not???

- not sure though as I was asleep at the time? Maybe this is why your expereince does not match. I was awake.

I have no idea what you are talking about - this is what I reported - Train from Jia Yu Guan to Dunhuang = 4 hours - slow and NASTY train - this is the only train that goes there. Can you read? Did I say anything about Lanzhou to Dunhuang? I think you are still asleep.

Silk Road - UNESCO - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Sites

Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province, connecting China Proper and Xinjiang.

1 - Bingling Cave Temple Complex, Yongjing County, Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture.

2 - Maijishan Cave Temple Complex, Tianshui.

3a - Yumen Pass, Dunhuang, Jiuquan

3b - Xuanquanzhi Posthouse, Dunhuang, Jiuquan.

3c - Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, Jiuquan.

3d - Suoyang City Ruins, Anxi, Guazhou, Jiuquan.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_China