Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring, located five kilometers south of Dunhuang, is reputed as a "Wonder in the Desert".

Mingsha Mountain is known for its singing sands. It was named Shajiao Mountain and nicknamed Shensha Mountain in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and later renamed to Mingsha Mountain in the Jin Dynasty. The mountain is 40 kilometers long east to west, 20 kilometers wide south to north, with an elevation of 1,715 meters at its main peak. Mingsha Mountain has many steep cliffs and blade-like ridges. When someone slides down the sands, a drum-like sound is made, which can be as light as music or as heavy as thunder.

Situated in the Mingsha Mountain, the Crescent Spring got the name from its crescent shape. In ancient times, it was once called Sand Well or Medicine Spring. Mistakenly it was called Wowa Pool for some time, but was renamed to the Crescent Spring in the Qing Dynasty.

Since ancient times, this mirror-like pool has offered water of high quality clear of sand. With iron fish making waves and water plants reflecting the light of the moon, the pool presents a splendid view and is famously known as "Clear Pool Like the Moon". Just like the Mingshan Mountain, the Crescent Spring also hosts one of the eight scenes of Dunhuang.

Under the leadership of the Party committees and governments at various levels, 10 tourist attractions and 10 activities have been developed based on better infrastructure, setting it onto the right trajectory of scientific, standardized, and systematic management. Now Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring is a famous tourist destination that offers sightseeing, vacationing, sand sports, cultural exchanges, and geological research functions. It is also a national 5A-class tourist attraction, and a national-level scenic site named by the State Council.