Gansu is a long, narrow province in northwest China that follows the Hexi Corridor, the Silk Road passage between the Qilian Mountains and the Gobi. It joins the Yellow River city of Lanzhou, the Mogao Caves and Mingsha dunes at Dunhuang, the Ming fort at Jiayuguan, the rainbow Danxia hills of Zhangye, and the Tibetan monasteries of Xiahe and Langmusi into one of China's richest cultural and landscape routes.
Local currency: Chinese Yuan Renminbi (CNY / RMB, symbol ¥).
Daily budget by traveller style
Typical per-person daily spend in Gansu.
- Mid-range
- CNY 600-850/day (approx $89-126 USD)
- Luxury
- CNY 1500+/day (approx $222+ USD)
Cost breakdown
Typical price ranges across major spending categories.
Accommodation
- Hostel
- CNY 50-100 (approx $7.40-15 USD) dorm bed in Lanzhou, Zhangye, Dunhuang or Xiahe
- Budget
- CNY 150-280 (approx $22-41 USD) 2-3 star hotel or guesthouse
- Midrange
- CNY 320-600 (approx $47-89 USD) 4-star hotel; Dunhuang and Zhangye prices rise sharply from May to October
- Luxury
- CNY 700-1800+ (approx $104-267+ USD) 5-star hotel or desert resort near Dunhuang
Food
- Street
- CNY 5-15 (approx $0.75-2.25 USD) skewers, roujiamo, or a bowl of Dunhuang donkey-meat yellow noodles
- Local
- CNY 15-40 (approx $2.25-6 USD) bowl of Lanzhou beef noodles (niurou lamian, CNY 12-20) or a sit-down halal meal
- Midrange
- CNY 60-140 (approx $9-21 USD) restaurant meal with lamb or hand-grabbed mutton and drinks
- Fine
- CNY 180-450 (approx $27-67 USD) upscale hotel dining or a Silk Road tasting menu in Lanzhou or Dunhuang
Transport
- Bus
- CNY 1-2 (approx $0.15-0.30 USD) Lanzhou city bus; CNY 2-3 on the Dunhuang city buses
- Taxi
- CNY 9-11 (approx $1.35-1.65 USD) flag-fall in Lanzhou, plus about CNY 2/km
- Airport
- CNY 100-130 (approx $15-19 USD) taxi from Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport to the city center (about 70 km); airport shuttle bus about CNY 30-35 (approx $4.50-5.20 USD)
- Daytrip
- CNY 400-900 (approx $59-133 USD) private car with driver for a full day, for example Bingling Temple from Lanzhou or the Zhangye Danxia circuit
Activities
- Museum
- CNY 0 (approx $0 USD); Gansu Provincial Museum in Lanzhou is free with a passport reservation through its WeChat mini-program, and most other state museums are free or under CNY 30
- Sites
- CNY 40-120 (approx $6-18 USD) for sites such as Labrang Monastery (CNY 40), Jiayuguan Fort, or Zhangye Danxia (about CNY 93 with the sightseeing bus)
- Tour
- CNY 250-700 (approx $37-104 USD) small-group day tour, for example Bingling Temple with the speedboat, or Mingsha Mountain plus Crescent Moon Spring
- Excursion
- CNY 238-258 (approx $35-38 USD) Mogao Caves standard ticket in peak season (April to November); CNY 140-160 (approx $21-24 USD) in the December to March off-season
Trip budgets by length
What a typical trip to Gansu costs end-to-end.
Backpacker traveller
Accommodation Hostel dorm bed in Lanzhou, Dunhuang or Xiahe, around CNY 50-90/night, Food Noodle shops, bakeries and night-market stalls, around CNY 50-80/day, Transport City buses, slow trains and shared minivans, around CNY 40-100/day, Activities Free museum, kora and river walks with one paid site every other day, around CNY 20-80/day, Total around CNY 200-330/day (approx $30-49 USD)
Budget traveller
Accommodation 2-3 star hotel in Lanzhou or Zhangye, around CNY 150-280/night, Food One sit-down halal meal plus street food, around CNY 100-160/day, Transport High-speed trains and shared day tours, around CNY 100-250/day, Activities One or two paid sites per day, around CNY 100-250/day, Total around CNY 450-850/day (approx $67-126 USD)
Mid Range traveller
Accommodation 4-star hotel in Lanzhou, Dunhuang or Zhangye, around CNY 350-600/night, Food Two restaurant meals including lamb or hand-grabbed mutton, around CNY 200-320/day, Transport Private driver for day trips plus occasional internal flights, around CNY 400-800/day, Activities Mogao Caves, Mingsha Mountain with camel ride, Zhangye Danxia, around CNY 250-500/day, Total around CNY 1,200-2,200/day (approx $178-326 USD)
Luxury traveller
Accommodation 5-star hotel or desert resort near Dunhuang, around CNY 900-2000/night, Food Premium dining and tasting menus, around CNY 400-800/day, Transport Private car with English-speaking driver-guide for the full day, around CNY 900-1500/day, Activities Private Mogao guide, extra special-cave tickets at Bingling, sunset camel trek, around CNY 800-1800/day, Total around CNY 3,000-6,000+/day (approx $444-889+ USD)
Money-saving tips
Practical ways to stretch your budget further.
Book Mogao Caves tickets as early as the booking window allows; the cheaper off-season ticket (December to March, about CNY 140-160 / $21-24 USD) saves around CNY 100 per person and queues are short.
Eat where locals eat: Lanzhou beef noodle shops open from early morning and a bowl costs CNY 12-20 (approx $1.80-3 USD), and Zhengning Road Night Market in Lanzhou has meals for under CNY 30 (approx $4.50 USD).
Take the high-speed train between Lanzhou, Zhangye West and Jiayuguan South; second-class seats on the Lanzhou-Zhangye leg cost around CNY 150-200 (approx $22-30 USD) compared with a CNY 600+ private car.
Visit Zhangye Danxia and Dunhuang outside July, August and the October 1 holiday week, when hotel rooms double in price and tickets sell out.
Use the Yellow River riverside, Baita Mountain, and Gansu Provincial Museum as free anchor activities in Lanzhou and keep paid sites to one or two per day.
Join a shared minivan day trip from Lanzhou to Bingling Temple or from Xiahe to Sangke Grassland rather than hiring a private car; shared seats are about CNY 100-200 (approx $15-30 USD).
Free things to do
Memorable experiences that cost nothing.
Gansu Provincial Museum, Lanzhou
Free entry with a passport and a reservation through the museum's WeChat mini-program or at the ticket desk (limited daily slots). Highlights include the Han-dynasty bronze Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow, painted Wei-Jin tomb bricks, and a large Silk Road gallery.
Yellow River Riverside Walk and Zhongshan Bridge, Lanzhou
Miles of free promenade along the Yellow River, passing the 1907 Zhongshan Iron Bridge, the Mother River statue and the Water Wheel Garden. It is lively in the evening with locals dancing and fishing.
Baita Mountain Park, Lanzhou
A hillside park north of the Yellow River with the Yuan-dynasty White Pagoda, temples and city views. The gate is free in the evening and cheap by day, with a cable car or footpaths up from the Zhongshan Bridge area.
Dunhuang Shazhou Night Market
Wander the Silk Road-themed night market for free; the stalls sell noodles, kebabs and apricot juice, and street performers dance in Dunhuang style. Entry to the market streets costs nothing.
Walk around Labrang Monastery on the kora, Xiahe
The 3 km pilgrim circuit around the monastery walls, with 1,174 prayer wheels, is free and open to everyone. Walking it clockwise at dawn alongside Tibetan pilgrims is one of the best free experiences in Gansu. Entering the halls costs CNY 40.
Jiayuguan Great Wall viewing from the town and Overhanging Great Wall roadside
The Great Wall ruins and desert landscape near Jiayuguan can be viewed from the road without a ticket; ticketed areas, including the fort itself, have separate fees.