Singing Sand Dunes (Mingshashan), also called Shensha Hill, is 6 kilometers south of Dunhuang City. The hill is 250 meters high, and as steep as a cliff. Tourists like to climb up the hill bare-footed. At the hill-top they may have a bird s eye view of the sand dunes which encircle a crystal-clear spring shaped like a crescent moon and then slide down from the hill, accompanied by a roaring sound of the moving sand.
Crescent Moon Spring is near the northern foot of Singing Sand Dunes in the southern suburbs of Dunhuang City. It is shaped like a crescent moon, and its clear water is surrounded by grass. It is said that when the wind blows the sand, none of it falls in the spring water. When the Dragon Boat Festival falls on the 5th day of the fifth lunar month, people usually climb up onto Singing Sand Dunes to view Crescent Moon Spring. This has become a local custom.