Yadan National Park and Jade Gate Pass Travel Guide

Yadan National Park and Jade Gate Pass is located a few hours’ drive from the large city of Dunhuang and it is situated in a dried up riverbed that has left behind fascinating rock formations.

The name Yadan comes from the meaning of a rock formation and is the perfect name for such a park. It boasts the world’s largest collection of ‘Yadan’ rock shapes and many people visit the national park as part of a four way trip itinerary from Dunhuang which also includes the Yangguang Pass and the Yumen Guan Pass and the Ancient Han’s Dynasty Great Wall.

Yadan National Park and Jade Gate Pass attracts many visitors including architects and archaeologists who are particularly interested in the rocks. The whole area is 25kms long and 18kms wide and the natural phenomena can take days to fully discover.

Getting There & Away

Yadan National Park and Jade Gate Pass is 180kms from Dunhuang, which is a major tourist attraction in itself. There is an airport with limited flights in Dunhuang with routes to Beijing that take about 4 hours. The roads from the city to the park are in good condition and the journey is pretty easy. There are buses that take anytime between 3 and 6 hours to reach the park. The best way to travel to Dunhuang from Xining is by train as it is 900kms away and trains take about 10 hours.