Can you take a train to Dunhuang?
Yes. In the 12306 English-site result for 14 October 2026 (read on 6 October 2026), Lanzhou to Dunhuang had 4 different trains. Xi'an to Dunhuang had 2, and both are among the Lanzhou four. For Urumqi, Dunhuang station showed no train that day. A search from Liuyuannan (柳园南), a different station that is not in Dunhuang, listed 12 trains to Urumqi that day.
How to read the numbers on this page
Every train, time and fare here is the 12306 result for 14 October 2026 (a Wednesday), read on 6 October 2026 without logging in. Trains, times and fares change by date, so search your own date. Each route was searched in one direction only. A list for Lanzhou to Dunhuang says nothing about trains from Dunhuang back to Lanzhou.
Lanzhou to Dunhuang by train
12306 result for 14 October 2026, read on 6 October 2026: the page said 8 results, but they are 4 trains. A train is listed once for each station it leaves from, so D2749 also appears from Qinwangchuan (秦王川) at 10:54 (8h32m). All four arrive at Dunhuang (敦煌) station.
| Train | Leaves | Arrives Dunhuang | Time | Fare shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D2749 | Lanzhou West (兰州西) 11:58 | 19:26 | 7h28m | Second ¥324, first ¥518 |
| D2737 | Lanzhou West 13:47 | 21:20 | 7h33m | Second ¥324, first ¥518 |
| Z6201 | Lanzhou (兰州) 18:30 | 06:35 next day | 12h5m | None shown |
| Z259 | Lanzhou 20:52 | 09:10 next day | 12h18m | None shown |
On that 14 October search, the D fares carry a ‘3% off’ label on 12306. A labelled fare is discounted, so the full fare is higher. The page printed no fare for the two Z trains, so none is given here; run the search for your date to see them. Z6201 also leaves from Lanzhou West at 18:46 and from Yongdeng (永登) at 19:56, and Z259 also leaves from Lanzhou West at 21:07.
The two D trains are daytime trains that reach Dunhuang the same evening. The two Z trains leave in the evening and arrive the next morning, so they are the overnight options.
Xi'an to Dunhuang by train
12306 result for 14 October 2026, read on 6 October 2026: 2 trains, and they are the same two trains (same train IDs) as D2737 and Z259 in the Lanzhou list. They run through Lanzhou to Dunhuang.
| Train | Leaves | Arrives Dunhuang | Time | Fare shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D2737 | Xi'an North (西安北) 10:24 | 21:20 | 10h56m | Second ¥549, first ¥878 |
| Z259 | Xi'an (西安) 12:25 | 09:10 next day | 20h45m | Hard seat ¥201; hard sleeper ¥343 and soft sleeper ¥542 (both upper berth) |
On that search, the D2737 fares are labelled ‘4% off’, so they are discounted and the full fare is higher. The Z259 fares have no discount label. D2737 is the daytime train, and Z259 is the overnight one.
For history only: China News reported that Xi'an to Dunhuang EMU trains first ran from the 11 October 2020 timetable, cutting the trip from about 23 hours to 11 hours. That is a 2020 figure, not a current timetable. For the city itself, see our Xi'an travel guide.
Dunhuang Station or Liuyuannan Station: which one to book
They are two different stations. Dunhuang Station (敦煌) is the stop shown as Dunhuang in 12306. Every Lanzhou and Xi'an train above arrives there. Liuyuannan (柳园南, Liuyuan South) is a separate stop, and it is not in Dunhuang.
Guazhou County lies next to Dunhuang on its east side, and its government says the county is west of Yumen and east of Dunhuang. In a 2024 emergency plan, the county lists Guazhou railway station, Liuyuan railway station and a ‘Liuyuan high-speed South station’ (柳园高铁南站) among its own stations. The Liuyuannan stop in 12306 belongs to Guazhou County.
This page has no official source for the distance, travel time, bus, shuttle or taxi fare between Liuyuannan and Dunhuang, so it gives none. If you want to be in Dunhuang, search with Dunhuang as the destination and check that the arrival column says Dunhuang (敦煌). Check the station name on the result and on your ticket before you pay. Work out how you will get from Liuyuannan to Dunhuang before you book any ticket that ends at Liuyuannan.
Dunhuang to Urumqi by train
12306 result for 14 October 2026, read on 6 October 2026: a search from Dunhuang station to Urumqi returned no train. The message was ‘sorry, according to your inquiry condition, there is no train at present.’ That covers that date and that station pair only.
The same date from Liuyuannan to Urumqi listed 12 trains:
- D575: 16:32 to 21:20, 4h48m. D2717: 17:54 to 22:47, 4h53m. Both show second class ¥247 and first class ¥395, with no discount label.
- 10 Z trains: 6h53m to 7h31m. Five leave between 00:19 and 01:12, three between 07:14 and 08:44, and two at 23:12 and 23:28. All show hard seat ¥105, hard sleeper ¥184 and soft sleeper ¥285 (the sleepers are upper-berth fares). Z41, Z179 and Z595 also show deluxe soft sleeper ¥521. None carries a discount label.
To reach Liuyuannan from Lanzhou, the 14 October 2026 search (read on 6 October 2026) listed 11 trains. D575 leaves Lanzhou West at 10:12 and arrives at 16:30 (6h18m). D2717 leaves Lanzhou West at 11:46 and arrives at 17:52 (6h6m). Both show second class ¥304 and first class ¥487 with no label, and they are the same two trains that carry on to Urumqi. The other 9 are Z trains from Lanzhou station, taking 9h1m to 11h29m. Two further Z179 rows said ticketing was temporarily closed due to a timetable adjustment, and are left out of the count.
Dunhuang to Lanzhou or Xi'an by train
The searches behind this page ran toward Dunhuang, not away from it. This page has no results for trains leaving Dunhuang for Lanzhou or Xi'an, so it does not guess. Run the opposite direction in 12306 for your date, and check the departure station name before you pay.
How to get from Dunhuang Station into town
You will need to cover this leg after you arrive. No official page used for this guide gives the station address, its distance from the city or a bus number, so no distance, bus or taxi fare is given here. The 12306 result and your ticket show the station name. For the town itself, see our Dunhuang travel guide.
How to buy a Dunhuang train ticket with a foreign passport
The 12306 FAQ says tickets are real-name, and foreign passengers can buy them with valid passports. The 12306 English site accepts only valid foreign passports. Both e-tickets and paper tickets are on sale. For an e-ticket, the FAQ says to keep the ticket information and the ID you bought with, and to show that ID to enter and leave the station and to board. Our 12306 booking guide and passport verification guide cover the steps.
If plans change, see 12306 refund and change fees. If you carry a power bank, see power bank rules for trains. Mogao Caves tickets are a separate booking: see Mogao Caves tickets for foreigners.
The Dunhuang railway line: what is in service
China Railway Group describes the Dunhuang railway as a 671 km line that starts at Liugou station (柳沟站) on the Lanzhou–Xinjiang railway, passes Dunhuang and runs on into Qinghai. It opened in December 2019. A Dunhuang city government item of 20 August 2024 says Dunhuang railway station ran 6 pairs of passenger trains in 2024, 2 pairs EMU (动车) and 4 pairs ordinary. Treat that as 2024 background, not today's timetable. The same item lists new lines, including Dunhuang to Shanshan and Dunhuang to Hongliuhe (红柳河), as plans or projects under way, not as lines in service.
