Two ways in, and the fast train station is 130 kilometres away

Dunhuang station, next to the airport, is the convenient one, but trains from Lanzhou take seven to eight hours by day or overnight in a sleeper. The high-speed line runs through Liuyuan South, which is 130 kilometres from town and a two-hour transfer by bus or car — cheap, but plan for it.

Flights from Xi'an, Lanzhou and Beijing land 13 kilometres from the centre. Whatever you take, arrange the Yumen Pass and Yadan day separately: it is a long drive west and worth a full day.