Editing Dunhuang (section)

{{Other uses|Dunhuang (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                   = Dunhuang
| official_name          = <!-- Official name in English if different from 'name' -->
| native_name            = 敦煌市
| native_name_lang       = zh
| other_name             = Tunhwang
| settlement_type        = [[County-level city]]
| image_skyline          = Mondsichelsee-03.JPG
| image_size             = 250px
| image_caption          = Dunhuang
| image_seal             = 
| image_map              = Location of Dunhuang within Gansu (China).png
| map_caption            = Dunhuang City (red) in Jiuquan City (yellow) and Gansu
| pushpin_map            = China Gansu#China
| pushpin_relief         = yes
| pushpin_label_position = 
| pushpin_map_caption    = Location in Gansu
| pushpin_map_size       = 
| subdivision_type       = Country
| subdivision_name       = [[China]]
| subdivision_type1      = [[Provinces of China|Province]]
| subdivision_name1      = [[Gansu]]
| subdivision_type2      = [[Prefecture-level city]]
| subdivision_name2      = [[Jiuquan]]
| seat_type                = Municipal seat
| seat                     = Shazhou Town
| leader_title           = 
| leader_name            = 
| established_title      = 
| established_date       = 
| area_magnitude         = 
| area_total_km2         = 31200
| area_footnotes         = <ref name="xzqhdh"/>
| area_land_km2          = 
| area_water_km2         = 
| population_footnotes   = <ref>{{cite web  |url =http://www.jiuquan.gov.cn//jiuquan/c100027/202106/1450cc786f0c4fbe8fdf3e44bf44a092.shtml  |title =酒泉市第七次全国人口普查公报  |publisher =Government of Jiuquan  |language =zh  |date =2021-06-01  }}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
| population_as_of       = 2020
| population_note        = 
| population_total       = 185231
| population_metro       = 
| population_density_km2 = auto
| timezone               = [[China standard time|CST]]
| utc_offset             = +8
| coor_pinpoint          = Dunhuang municipal government
| coordinates            = {{coord|40|08|28|N|94|39|50|E|type:adm3rd_region:CN-62|display=it}}
| elevation_m            = 1142
| postal_code_type       = [[List of postal codes in China|Postal Code]]
| postal_code            = 736200
| area_code              = 
| blank_name             = 
| blank_info             = 
| website                = {{URL|www.dunhuang.gov.cn/}}
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
|pic=Dunhuang (Chinese characters).svg|piccap="Dunhuang" in Chinese characters|picupright=0.4
|psp=Tunhwang|c={{linktext|lang=zh|敦煌}}|w=Tun<sup>1</sup>-huang<sup>2</sup>|p=Dūnhuáng|mi={{IPAc-cmn|AUD|Dun1huang2.ogg|d|un|1|.|h|uang|2}}
|j=Deon<sup>1</sup>-wong<sup>4</sup>|ci={{IPAc-yue|d|eon|1|.|w|ong|4}}
|l="Blazing Beacon"{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}
}}
'''Dunhuang''' ({{Audio|Dun1huang2.ogg|listen}}) is a [[county-level city]] in northwestern [[Gansu|Gansu Province]], [[Western China]]. According to the [[2010 Chinese census]], the city has a population of 186,027,<ref name="xzqhdh">{{cite web |date=2016-06-27 |title=|script-title=zh:敦煌市历史沿革 |trans-title=Dunhuang City Historical Development |url=http://www.xzqh.org/html/show/gs/30392.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804030425/http://www.xzqh.org/html/show/gs/30392.html |archive-date=2020-08-04 |access-date=2021-04-02 |website=xzqh.org |language=zh}}</ref> though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800.<ref name="2019 Econ Social Dev Stat Report">{{Cite web |date=2019 |title=|script-title=zh:敦煌市 2019 年国民经济和社会发展统计公报 |trans-title=Dunhuang 2019 Economic and Social Development Statistical Report |url=http://www.dunhuang.gov.cn/userfiles/files/20200514/6372505429974754495565141.PDF |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402203951/http://www.dunhuang.gov.cn/userfiles/files/20200514/6372505429974754495565141.PDF |archive-date=2021-04-02 |access-date=2021-04-02 |publisher=Dunhuang People's Government |language=zh}}</ref> Sachu (Dunhuang) was a major stop on the ancient [[Silk Road]] and is best known for the nearby [[Mogao Caves]].

Dunhuang is situated in an [[oasis]] containing [[Crescent Lake (Dunhuang)|Crescent Lake]] and [[Singing Sand Dunes (Dunhuang)|Mingsha Shan]] ({{linktext|鳴沙山}}, meaning "Singing-Sand Mountain"), named after the sound of the wind whipping off the dunes, the [[singing sand]] phenomenon. Dunhuang commands a strategic position at the crossroads of the ancient Southern [[Silk Route]] and the main road leading from India via [[Lhasa]] to [[Mongolia]] and southern [[Siberia]],<ref name="Cable and French 1943, p. 41"/> and also controls the entrance to the narrow [[Hexi Corridor]], which leads straight to the heart of the north Chinese plains and the ancient capitals of [[Chang'an]] (today known as Xi'an) and [[Luoyang]].<ref>Lovell (2006), pp. 74–75.</ref>

Administratively, the county-level city of Dunhuang is part of the [[prefecture-level city]] of [[Jiuquan]].<ref name="govdh">{{cite web |date= |title=|script-title=zh:行政区划 |trans-title=Administrative Divisions |url=http://www.dunhuang.gov.cn/lidunhuang/dunhuanggaikuang/20170104/23262264245475.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402202437/http://www.dunhuang.gov.cn/lidunhuang/dunhuanggaikuang/20170104/23262264245475.htm |archive-date=2021-04-02 |accessdate=2021-04-02 |publisher=Dunhuang People's Government |language=zh-cn }}</ref> Historically, the city and/or its surrounding region has also been known by the names '''Shazhou''' (prefecture of sand) or '''Guazhou''' (prefecture of melons).<ref name="Cable and French 1943, p. 41">Cable and French (1943), p. 41.</ref> In the modern era, the two alternative names have been assigned respectively to ''Shazhou zhen'' (Shazhou town) which serves as Dunhuang's seat of government, and to the neighboring [[Guazhou County]]. 
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