Tashi Transportation

The ruined city lies 50km south of modern-day Anxi, on the southern edge of the oasis, 6km south of the village of Qiaozicun. If driving from Dunhuang, turn right where the modern road (#313) turns sharply left and enters the oasis just 10km before Anxi. The road heads through some low hills and comes out onto a plain, crossing a very wide rivercourse on an embankment several kilometres long. Although the road is asphalted, the embankment has been washed away at several points and it can get bumpy and sandy. The old fortress of Pochengzi (not to be confused with the fortress of the same name in Inner Mongolia to the north of Jiuquan) is passed (see separate review) and the road winds in and out of the oasis until the small town of Tashi is reached. This place is also known as Suoyangxiang (as it is the main administrative township in the area), and the road to old Anxi is left at the roundabout. You can't miss the roundabout (trust me on this!), while straight ahead is the route on to the Yulin Grottos. (not visited yet because I never have the time when I am here, sadly). A few kilometres further on, the road comes to a T-junction where you will see either a building site or a brand new museum looming out of the gravel plains. The village of Qiaozicun is left, and the entrance to Suoyang is right about 1.5km up the road.
It is possible to continue on to Yumen Shi and Jiayuguan from here but it is an arduous 4 hour drive (summer 2006) because access to the #312 highway is very difficult, so it is necessary to follow a gravel track alongside a major irrigation channel the whole way to Yumen Shi. I have the GPS coordinates for this route if you need them....and I would highly recommend using a GPS unit for this route because it involves travelling three sides around a huge rectangle to get onto the right road.