Our overnight train from Lanzhou to Dunhuang took 14 hrs. We booked all 4 berths in our cabin so it was private. 9 of the 12 cabins were occupied by some senior local politicians and their entourage. There were 5 conductors (instead of the normal 1), and 2 police dedicated to our car. Everyone appeared nervous. There was a TV crew filming on the train and on the station platform being greeted by local political leaders. One male train conductor kept telling Kimberley to stay inside our cabin, even not to poke her head of out of cabin door. These guys smoked through the journey in a non-smoking train, despite the PA clearly asking passengers NOT to smoke. Their cabin was just next to ours. There were rules for us the commons and there were rules (or lack of) for them.... The smoke triggered Kimberley and Kristine to do a severe coughing sonata for over an hour at bedtime. I asked a conductor and a police who the dignitaries were, they evaded answering my question. On the train, I felt Kimberley running up and down the aisle probably made us a nuisance to train crew. I knew they were nervous but I couldn’t tell if it was all Kimberley. When we got off the train in Dunhuang, the politicians disembarked before us. By the time we got off the train, the conductors and police were beaming with smiles. Two of them even chatted with me. Everyone was happy we reached Dunhuang..
Our local tour guide met us at the train station. First stop was MoguGou, ancient shrines caved into hillside. We were taken by a young lady guide to see 10 of the 492 shrines. The rest were closed for preservation. A highlight was a special hidden compartment where 50000 ancient scripts were discovered, with 2/3 taken and dispersed through much of the western world. Our lady guide talked how an American came to find more ancient scripts nearly 100 yrs ago only to discovered all had been taken away. He then crated a few Buddha statues which are now housed at Harvard University.
Interestingly, hotels and scenic parks in the region still retain pricing discounts for locals, or more appropriately 'pricing surcharges for foreigners'. Grace is the one who buys tickets while I took the kids away from the ticket counter.
The visit to see limestone landscape carved by eons of sandstorms took 2 hrs of car ride. Kristine was not impressed.
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