Can foreigners book Mogao Caves tickets online?
Yes. The Dunhuang Academy runs the caves, and its 2026 opening announcement says visitors with a foreign passport book through the official WeChat service account 莫高窟参观预约网. You pick Ticket Booking under the 预约购票 menu. The claim you may have read elsewhere, that foreigners can only buy at the site, is not what this announcement says.
Entry is by real-name, timed-slot reservation, with a daily cap on visitors. Plan to book before you travel to Dunhuang, and bring the passport you booked with.
How to book Mogao Caves tickets with a foreign passport
The announcement names two official channels: the 莫高窟参观预约网 WeChat service account and the 莫高窟参观预约网 WeChat mini-program. Both run inside WeChat. The extra instruction for foreign passports and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan permits is the Ticket Booking menu on the service account.
- In WeChat, follow the service account 莫高窟参观预约网.
- Open the 预约购票 menu and choose Ticket Booking.
- Choose a date and a time slot, and book under the same passport you will carry.
- Keep the booking confirmation and the passport together for the day.
Steps 3 and 4 are our plain reading of the rules, not a screen-by-screen guide. The announcement does not say how a foreigner registers, how a passport is verified or which payment methods work inside WeChat. If you get stuck, the official hotline is 4008-333-715 (staffed 08:30-16:30). It gives visit advice only and cannot take a booking by phone.
The announcement directs individual foreign visitors to the WeChat service account, and registered, annually reviewed travel agencies to www.mgk.org.cn. The announcement says it is for travel agencies with a registered annual review.
Mogao Caves ticket prices in 2026
Prices are per person per visit, from the Academy's Mogao Caves page, which shows no date.
| Visit | Full price | Discounted | Special preferential |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peak season, regular (digital film + 8 real caves) | ¥238 | ¥148 | ¥20 |
| Off-season, regular (digital film + 10 real caves) | ¥140 | ¥95 | ¥20 |
| Emergency visit (4 real caves) | ¥100 | ¥55 | ¥20 |
The page lists the emergency visit after the off-season block and does not label a season for it. The announcement says the Academy starts emergency mode during peak season. We only report the page: it lists ¥100 full price for the emergency visit.
Do foreign tourists get a discount?
The page writes its discounts for Chinese citizens (中国公民). The discounted ticket covers ages 6 to 17, ages 60 to 69, and full-time mainland students up to master's level. The special ¥20 ticket covers ages 4 to 5, ages 70 and over, and several other groups. Children under 4 are free.
The ID lists for children and seniors include the foreign permanent-resident ID card, so that card is accepted as proof of age. The page does not say that a tourist on a foreign passport gets any discount. For the student discount it says Chinese students studying abroad and other non-full-time students do not qualify. Expect full price on a passport, and ask the hotline if you think you qualify for something.
Regular visit vs emergency visit
The Academy runs a daily visitor cap. A regular visit is capped at 6,000 tickets a day and covers the Exhibition Hall 1 digital film plus 8 real caves. An emergency visit is capped at 12,000 tickets a day and covers 4 real caves. The announcement says the Academy starts emergency mode "as appropriate" during peak season, based on cave protection and visitor demand. It is the Academy's call, not a mode you pick.
Special caves are a third, separate visit with limited numbers. You do it after your regular or emergency visit that day, during special-cave opening hours, at the special-cave office in the cave area, with your ID. The announcement publishes the cave numbers, both the ordinary open caves and the special caves, but neither the announcement nor the Academy's Mogao page identifies the exact 8 caves included in a regular visit.
Emergency visit and foreign passports
The announcement says holders of a full-price emergency ticket swipe a Chinese second-generation ID card at the Exhibition Hall 2 gate. It is silent on how a foreign passport holder enters on an emergency visit. Call 4008-333-715 if you are told your visit has switched to emergency mode.
Mogao Caves opening hours and last check-in
The announcement and the Academy's Mogao page give different times. Both are shown here as written.
| Season | Announcement, 30 March 2026 | Mogao page |
|---|---|---|
| Peak, 1 April to 30 November | 08:00-18:00, check-in stops 16:10 | Open 08:00-18:00, ticket sales 08:00-15:30 |
| Off-season, 1 December to 31 March | 09:00-17:00, check-in stops 15:10 | Open 09:00-17:30, ticket sales 09:00-15:00 |
We treat the announcement as the main source for hours and last check-in. The Mogao page also lists booking hours of 07:00 to 22:00 and says the caves are open all year. Your booked slot is what counts on the day. Arrive at the Digital Exhibition Center at least 30 minutes before it. The announcement adds that opening arrangements may change, and the latest notice from the Mogao Opening Management Committee prevails.
How far ahead to book, and what if it sells out?
The Mogao page shows booking hours of 07:00 to 22:00 each day. Neither the 2026 opening announcement nor the Academy's Mogao page says how many days ahead booking opens or shows which dates are booked out. The announcement does not say whether cancelled tickets go back on sale. Because daily numbers are capped, book as soon as your dates are fixed, and build Dunhuang plans around a booked slot, not the other way round.
If your date is full, neither the 2026 opening announcement nor the Academy's Mogao page describes a waiting list or walk-up route. The announcement describes reservation-only entry and does not describe sales at the gate. The hotline, which gives visit advice only, is the one place the Academy points to for questions.
On the day: ticket exchange, getting there and what to carry
The Digital Exhibition Center (莫高窟数字展示中心) is the first stop. It handles buying, collecting and checking tickets, and the cave area has no ticket office or visitor parking, so do not drive straight to the caves. The center is at No. 8899 Yangguan East Road, Dunhuang (敦煌市阳关东路8899号).
- Collect the paper sheet. For a regular visit, take your ID to a manual ticket window or a self-service terminal to get a paper 莫高窟购票信息单. Discounted tickets also need the original discount document.
- Two checks. The sheet is checked at the Digital Exhibition Center and again in the cave area, at the entrance printed on the ticket. It is valid for that day and that visit only.
- Parking and transport. The center has four outdoor lots (east, west, central, south). In peak season tour coaches use the south lot, and taxis and public buses use the central pick-up area. Neither the 2026 opening announcement nor the Academy's Mogao page gives shuttle details, bus times or taxi fares from Dunhuang town.
- Not allowed in the cave area. Suitcases, bags of 20 inches and larger, pets and drones. The center offers free storage for large luggage and pets. Photography and filming are banned inside the caves.
- Other services at the center. Lost and found, free Wi-Fi, phone charging, and restaurants and shops in the waiting area.
The announcement requires preschool children, very elderly visitors and people with limited mobility to visit with friends or family. Neither the 2026 opening announcement nor the Academy's Mogao page gives availability or schedules for English-language guided tours or audio guides.
Can I trust third-party sites and agents that sell Mogao tickets?
The announcement is direct: the Academy has not authorised any third-party organisation or individual to sell tickets. It asks visitors to look after their ID details and not to buy through third parties. Tickets are real-name, and the ticket, ID and visitor must match.
Travel agencies are a separate case. Agencies with a registered annual review can book on the official site www.mgk.org.cn, and a guide needs the original group plan tied to the booking and each visitor's original ID to issue group tickets at the agency window. If you join a tour, that is the route your operator uses. The 2026 opening announcement does not explain how you can check whether a given agency has the required registration and annual review.
Mogao Caves closed for rain: refunds and where to check
The announcement says that in heavy rain, strong sandstorms or similar conditions the caves stop opening, and reservations not yet checked get a full refund. The Academy's notices from summer 2026 show how that works:
- 24 June 2026: closed from 11:00 after rain, with no ticket sales or checks that day. A notice dated 24 June reopened the caves on 25 June.
- 9 July 2026: a weather warning for the night of 9 July to the early hours of 11 July, saying the caves might close if needed. It was a warning only; the 9 July notice does not confirm a closure.
- 29 July 2026: a notice dated 28 July said opening would be delayed on 29 July, and a notice dated 29 July closed the caves for the whole day. The caves reopened on 30 July, per a notice dated 29 July.
The Academy's September notice list includes a closure notice for the Dunhuang Art Museum, a different venue from the Mogao Caves. All of these closures have ended. They show that summer rain can shut the caves.
Refunds when the caves close
- Orders not yet ticketed for the closed day are cancelled with no refund fee.
- If you already hold a ticket sheet but did not visit, take the paper 莫高窟购票信息单 to a manual ticket window for a fee-free refund, or refund or rebook yourself in your booking account.
- Refund fees are returned within 2 days to the original payment channel.
Where closure notices are posted
The Academy named these channels in its notices: the Dunhuang Academy website www.dha.ac.cn, the booking site www.mgk.org.cn, its WeChat accounts (莫高窟参观预约网 in the 24 June closure notice and the 9, 28 and 29 July notices; 敦煌研究院 and 莫高窟 as well in the 28 and 29 July notices), the hotline 4008-333-715, and an SMS to the phone number left on your booking in the 9 July and 28 July notices. Make sure your booking carries a phone number you can receive texts on.
One unrelated item: the Dunhuang Art Museum (敦煌艺术馆) is closed from 7 September 2026 for renovation, with no reopening date given. That is a different venue from the Mogao Caves and does not affect your caves ticket.
Planning the rest of the Dunhuang trip
For the town itself, other sights and how the days fit together, see our Dunhuang travel guide. We can help you plan the day and tell you how to book, but the Mogao ticket itself is booked by you, through the official WeChat channel above.
