2-person Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop Day 4: Mogao Caves & Mingsha Mountain

Today was the only day we didn't have to change hotels, as our tour group skipped the Mogao Caves. It was just the two of us traveling this year, and we set off at 9 am. We originally only planned to buy emergency tickets to see four caves and get a basic understanding. However, late October is the off-season, so emergency tickets weren't available; we could only buy regular tickets for 238 yuan per person, which included two movies and access to eight caves. But because we could enter early in the afternoon, there were at least three groups explaining each cave. The caves themselves are quite small, so it got very crowded, making the experience less than ideal. Nevertheless, it fulfilled my dream of visiting the Mogao Caves. At 1 pm, we ate a small portion of poplar leafy flatbread for 68 yuan. It was a huge portion! So delicious! 🤤 And being from Guangdong, we desperately needed leafy greens! We ordered stir-fried lettuce and yogurt. Delicious, we finished it all. The vendor also had their own fruit 🍇, which was cheaper than at the night market, 4 yuan per jin (500g). However, the variety was different, probably local. Lunch cost 68 + 22 + 6 + 6 = 102 yuan. At 3 pm, we picked up our tour group and arrived at Mingsha Mountain. Tickets were 110 yuan per person. Climbing the desert was incredibly tiring! I can't imagine how difficult it would be without ropes! It took half an hour to climb up, and I had to rest for a while halfway up because I was so tired. The temperature at the top was at least 40-50 degrees Celsius—no wonder it's a desert! The wind was also very strong. It took me another half hour to recover. When we went, the 10,000-person concert had already ended. We went back around 6 pm. The taxi back cost 10 yuan. For dinner, we chose the top-ranked hand-pulled lamb! The lamb chops were absolutely divine! I had a bit of a cold, but the lamb offal soup warmed me up and helped. We also had some stir-fried elm seeds, which I'd read about in textbooks—very fragrant. The taste was a bit like stir-fried leek sprouts. Today's expenses: 238 + 238 + 102 + 120 + 10 = 708