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Chic . Explore . ThinkerTen

My Style ~ My Journey ~ My Inspiration

ChinaChina Hotel ReviewsGansuTravel

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

by kumamonjeng July 23, 2018
written by kumamonjeng July 23, 2018
Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Dunhuang

Anyone who is doing Silk Road China will certainly stop at Dunhuang which is located in Gansu Province. This historical site is one of the most important site which you can’t miss. The China’s jewel such as Mingshashan Yueyaquan / Crescent Moon Lake and Mogao Caves are located in Dunhuang. This area is a basin plain with Mt Qilan in the south, Mt Mazong in the north and desert from east to west.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

During my stay in Dunhuang, I have the chance to stay at Sun Grand Hotel.  Here is my review.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

The Sun Grand Hotei is conveniently located in downtown Dunhuang, an easy 5-minute walk to the night markets, restaurants, and supermarkets. In Chinese standard, it is rated as 4 stars. When you entered the hotel, it appeared as grand with very big lobby and few seating areas for their guests. The huge chandeliers will certainly catch you attention. If you look closer, you will spot the Dunhuang ‘Feitian’/ Flying fairies in the chandeliers.  Look up at the ceiling, you also see many Buddha paintings.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Wooden Furnitures 

There are few seating areas in the lobby but all are carved lacquer wooden furniture which are very common in China.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Wooden Shelf Displaying Antiques

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Japanese Izakaya Restaurant

The hotel also accommodate a lot of Japanese guests and there is a Japanese Izakaya restaurant.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Jade Dragon Boat

A very large Jade Dragon Boat was spotted at the corridor of the Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang.  Jade boat seems like a very good thing in Fengshui, it brings in good luck and good fortune.  It is believed that the ship coming back from its sail could bring back lots of wealth when it harbors back.

A Little Fountain

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Buddha Statue

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Shoes Shining Machine

There are also several shoes shining machines in this hotel.  After a long journey at the desert in Dunhuang or Mogao Caves, you may need a free shoes shine.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Shopping in Hotel

Antiques, silks and scarfs or small little souvenirs can be found in the shops here.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Business Center

You can get your internal flight tickets, bus or train tickets at the business center.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Smoking Room

No smoking at any place in the hotel, except at a designated closed door smoking area at the lobby hall.  I am glad it is a closed door smoking area!

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Hotel Room Review

The hotel room is up to my standard, clean and comfortable.  The lighting in the room is bright (white light is used, not warm light) and the air-conditional is working well.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

TV, fridge, slippers and free mineral waters are provided.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Hot Water Kettle

Most hotel in China has the hot water kettle for their guests because mainland Chinese must boil the water before drinking and prefer to drink hot water and not so much on cold or room temperature drinks.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Toilet Review

The toilet is not that spacious but it has all the thing a traveler needs.  However there is one thing to note; when you use the shower, you may want to let it run for few minutes to make sure hot water is working, then only start jumping in.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Complimentary Breakfast

Breakfast are mostly Chinese style but they do have some western such as sausages, ham, eggs, bake bean and bread.  Overall, it is a good variety if you can take Chinese in the morning, such as congee, white bun with stir fried vegetables.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Dunhuang High School

We passed by Dunhuang High school and saw parents are waiting outside the school, where their children are taking their college entrance examination. On June 7-8, the college entrance examination are held all over the country. So expect to see less mainland Chinese tourists in most of the attraction sites as most parents are busy accompanying their children during this exam period.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Guazhou / 瓜州 Gansu

Guozhou’s location is ideally suited for wind farms, we see a lot of wind farms on our way. In fact Guozhou has the nickname “world’s wind warehouse“.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Melon State – Guazhou/瓜州

Guazhou/瓜州 is about 1 hour and 20 mins drive from Dunhuang.  Gua /瓜 in Chinese means melon and Zhou is state so this place is full of sweet melon.  The weather is Guazhou is suitable and ideal for harvesting sweet melon. While in Guazhou, don’t forget to go for melon tasting.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Red Wolfberries 

After our melon tasting, we also went to explore other fruits, such as red and black wolfberries.

The red wolfberries are great for eyes and many Chinese people put the red wolfberries in their hot tea or in the soup.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Black Wolfberry

It was my first time to see the black wolfberry.  The black wolfberry has plenty of benefits and seems work better then the red wolfberry, it is used for anti-aging and enhance immunity.  The price is so much higher than the red wolfberry by 2-3 folds.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Depending what water you used, if you used water from the tap, the color is more blue and if you used mineral water, the water is more towards purple.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

Final thoughts :

Dunhuang Sun Grand Hotel is where I stayed during my Dunhuang visit in Gansu Silk Road China.  The hotel is grand and impressive when you step in for the first glance.  The room and breakfast are good.  It is also conveniently located near the downtown where easy access of the supermarkets & restaurants and night markets.

Guazhou is translated as ‘Melon State’, about 1 hour and 20 mins from Dunhuang.  While in Guazhou, one thing not to be missed is melon tasting as this place is named after their sweet melon.

Silk Road China : Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang Review & Guazhou /瓜州 Melon Tasting in Gansu

You may like :

  • Mogao Caves Dunhuang
  • Yueyaquan Crescent Moon Lake 
  • Dunhuang Food Review
  • Dunhuang Silk Road Show – 丝路花雨

 

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Black WolfberriesChina tourDunhuangDunhuang High SchoolDunhuang hotel reviewFeitainGansuGuazhou GansuMelon tastingRed WolfberriesSun Grand Hotel Dunhuang瓜州
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45 comments

Quitterstrip July 23, 2018 - 12:28 pm

Great pictures! Your hotel did look really nice 🙂 I would definitely be distracted by all the decorations. Sounds like a great visit!

Reply
Sabrina Fox July 23, 2018 - 1:12 pm

I love all of the architecture. Beautiful photos!

Reply
Gladys Parker July 23, 2018 - 6:30 pm

How beautiful the Sun Grand Hotel is! I love the Jade Dragon Boat, the chandelier, and the little fountain. Your room was cute with a bonus fridge.

Reply
kumamonjeng July 24, 2018 - 7:07 am

Dear Gladys,

Thank you for your comment. The light of the room is white light but I prefer warm light. The fridge look super cute but I didn’t use it.

Reply
Laura G July 23, 2018 - 7:13 pm

That looks like a fun place to stay! Thanks for sharing, love the pictures!

Reply
Surabhi K July 23, 2018 - 7:38 pm

Hey! Loved all the little details of the hotel. Looks very beautiful. A must visit place definitely 🙂 Thank you for sharing with us 🙂

Reply
theburstingbookshelf July 24, 2018 - 12:45 am

I love how antique all of the furniture is! Also, all of that produce looks good

Reply
kumamonjeng July 24, 2018 - 7:05 am

The furnitures in the hotel do look like antique as woods are used. I guess it is easier to maintain and also has the Chinese style and flavor.

Reply
Janine Ella July 24, 2018 - 1:18 am

The hotel facilities are really nice! I wish I can visit this one day. But the fountain really caught my attention. I wonder why was it placed under the staircase? Haha. Maybe it’s the feng shui stuff, eh? Hehe

Reply
kumamonjeng July 24, 2018 - 7:04 am

Dear Janine,

You are totally right, I too was wondering the fountain is parked behind the stairs. The decoration of the hotel seems a bit out of places, I have to admit they have grand stuff to show off but the placing of those objects are really out of place.

Reply
Karla July 24, 2018 - 3:28 am

What a lovely place to stay! The hotel looks very nice and I like it’s ambiance!

Reply
kumamonjeng July 24, 2018 - 7:02 am

Dear Karla,

The moment you step into Sun Grand Hotel, you would find the lobby very impressive, the chandelier light and the ceiling are super unique with it own way The ceiling has drawing of Buddha and Feitian – the iconic flying fairies found in Mogao Caves.

Reply
Marcie July 24, 2018 - 3:35 am

What an ornate hotel! I’d love to see that Jade dragon boat! Hoping to take the boys to China in the next few years!

Reply
kumamonjeng July 24, 2018 - 7:00 am

Dear Marcie,

The Jade dragon boat can be seen in many of the business premises in China but the one at the Sun Grand Hotel is super huge. But not why it is parked at a dark corner of the hotel.

Reply
Tara July 24, 2018 - 6:18 am

I had not heard of this place before. Looks amazing in the photos. I agree, it is a must see on the Silk Road China.

Reply
kumamonjeng July 24, 2018 - 6:59 am

Dear Tara,

Dunhuang is a must visit place in Silk Road China which has many attractions to see such as Mogao Caves and Crescent Moon Lake.

Reply
Geraline Batarra July 24, 2018 - 7:20 am

This is such a nice hotel to check-in. Great review for us traveler to look on this wonderful hotel. Loved the architecture exterior especially the interior.

Reply
kumamonjeng July 24, 2018 - 10:58 pm

Dear Geraline,

I totally agree with you that the interior deco is really impressive, especially the chandelier light and the ceiling which was painted with Feitain and Buddha, simulate the murals in the Mogao Caves.

Reply
momi berlin July 24, 2018 - 9:44 am

Your post is a breather. Usually, i would read about Shanghai and other places in China other than that you’ve featured. Indeed, there are really nice places to explore and visit once in China.

Reply
kumamonjeng July 24, 2018 - 10:54 pm

Dear Momi,

There are many other interesting places beside Shanghai and Beijing in China, Dunhuang is just another example located in the ancient old Silk Road route, located in Gansu Province.

Reply
Jeannine Dippenaar July 24, 2018 - 10:32 am

I have never seen anything like this. I am sure we do not have such impressive hotels as the Sun Grand Hotel Dunhuang in South-Africa. I would love to spent a night (or three) at this hotel. Beautiful photos

Reply
kumamonjeng July 24, 2018 - 10:53 pm

Dear Jeannine,

Thank you for your comment. I would love to visit a similar hotel in South Africa one day.

Reply
StephJ July 24, 2018 - 11:53 am

Wow this is breathtaking! I have always been intrigued by the silk road and interested in its significance in history as well. Thank you for sharing your journey in a place that I may not be able to visit myself.

Reply
kumamonjeng July 24, 2018 - 10:52 pm

Dear Steph,

The ancient silk road is a once in a life time journey. It was one of the most important arteries of trade and culture in world history which connect the East and West.

Reply
Czjai Reyes-Ocampo July 24, 2018 - 1:54 pm

That hotel has some really interesting fixtures. Reminds me of the hotel that we stayed at in Singapore. 🙂

Reply
Corinne (@WhatCorinneDid) July 24, 2018 - 4:05 pm

OMG take me there! I’d love to stay there! It looks amazing and your photos are so nice!

Reply
Tiffany La Forge-Grau July 24, 2018 - 6:51 pm

Wow that looks like such an amazing place to visit! I love all the designs and motifs throughout. Now I want to visit even more!

Reply
TheSuperMomLife July 24, 2018 - 7:21 pm

What a beautiful hotel. If we are ever in the area, we will know where to stay.

Reply
Yeah Lifestyle July 24, 2018 - 9:12 pm

What a lovely hotel this is and I enjoyed reading your full review of it. Great tip about letting the hot water run first before jumping in the shower.

http://www.yeahlifestyle.com

Reply
Nancie July 24, 2018 - 11:29 pm

Great review. The hotel appears to operated based on western standards.

Reply
Davindra Ramnarine July 25, 2018 - 12:42 am

Very nice hotel, I really like all the sculptures. And if I ever get the opportunity to visit I’ll definitely taste melons.

Reply
Ashlee | She Can Social (@shecansocial) July 25, 2018 - 1:39 am

What a gorgeous hotel! I love that dragon boat, so pretty!

Reply
kumamonjeng July 25, 2018 - 7:46 am

Dear Ashlee,
The dragon boat is meant to bring a lot of wealth to the hotel business, usually placed at the hallway of the office premisses or hotel in China according to Fengshui.

Reply
Michelle Christie July 25, 2018 - 3:47 am

That is a lovely hotel. I like the photos that you shared within this blog! Wow! Thanks for sharing.

Reply
Danielle July 25, 2018 - 7:07 am

Wow this place looks so beautiful!

Reply
Elizabeth O July 25, 2018 - 12:22 pm

This looks like such a luxurious place to stay. I love the decor and the jade dragon boat. It sounds like you had a great stay.

Reply
kumamonjeng July 25, 2018 - 10:59 pm

Dear Elizabeth,

The hotel does not cost that much to be honest, quite cheap after conversion to USD (around 50 per room). It is considered as 4 star China standard and that is equivalent to International 3 star standard only.

Reply
Vu Ha July 25, 2018 - 1:55 pm

This hotel is so convenient and beautiful. It has both ancient beauty and modern look.

Reply
dagniee July 25, 2018 - 2:24 pm

How beautiful the Sun Grand Hotel is! I love the magic that you fell coming into this place, and it’s so luxurious

Reply
Erin S July 25, 2018 - 3:47 pm

I love the architecture and the location is fantastic

Reply
trinaellen July 25, 2018 - 10:23 pm

What a stunning hotel! I would never want to leave the hotel to sight see.

Reply
Megan July 26, 2018 - 3:12 pm

Such a beautiful spot, and so many intricate details! I’m so impressed <3

Reply
Carrie Liu July 26, 2018 - 5:41 pm

Looks like a lovely place to stay. Love the vintage vibes.

Reply
kumamonjeng July 27, 2018 - 6:30 am

Dear Carrie,

The hotel is kind of cool when you first stepped in. I was quite impressive by the lobby and the grand hall, especially those decoration. Overall a good night stay without any noise. To me, that is most important.

Reply
Aduke Schulist July 27, 2018 - 7:14 pm

That chandelier is amazing. I think I would secretly be fearful it would fall.

Reply

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I am the travel writer for Thinkerten. I lived in Japan, Australia, Malaysia and now based in Singapore. Speak 4 languages, Japanese, English, Malay, and Chinese. There are the many types of travels one can experience and mine are mostly focus on self-driving/road trip to explore the places I wanted to see and learn about. Only if you get out of your country, you will see the real you and understand more about yourself, to realize of your own identity, your own culture, and your root.

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