Dunhuang, a desert city in northwest Gansu province known for the Buddhist frescoes in its Mogao caves, has halved hotel rates and ticket prices hoping to draw more tourists.

From Nov. 1 to April 30, a visit to the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, a world heritage site, costs 80 yuan (12.6 U.S. dollars), compared with 160 yuan per person for the rest of the year, a spokesman with the city's tourism administration said Thursday.

The slack season visitors will also gain access to five additional caves that are off-limits to tourists during the peak season from May to October, said Wang Binyin, the administration's general office director.

Meanwhile, all star-level hotels in Dunhuang have halved their room rates hoping to attract more guests, Wang said.

Besides the Mogao Grottoes, he said most other tourist destinations in Dunhuang city also offer special discounts to tour groups, including a "buy 10 tickets and get two for free" package for Yueya Spring, a crescent-shaped lake surrounded by deserts.

Wang said his administration was working to promote new tourism routes in winter and spring, including expeditions into the Gobi desert, snow mountains and glaciers.

The city government will also subsidize air routes between Dunhuang and major tourist sources including Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Lanzhou and Urumqi, to ensure flights are available during the winter holidays, said Wang.

Dunhuang was a wealthy oasis town and major stop along the ancient Silk Road. The frescoes and carvings in its Mogao grottoes are some of the best preserved examples of Buddhist art in China. The Mogao Grottoes, or the Ancient Caves of 1,000 Buddhas, were listed in 1987 by the United Nations' Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization as China's first world heritage site.

Tourists to most parts of the underdeveloped Gansu province have decreased as winter approaches.

Even the Lhamo Monastery, a 260-year-old Tibetan monastery in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Gannan, has few visitors and pilgrims other than the local Buddhists.

"I've chosen to visit Gannan in early winter hoping to avoid the crowds," said Zhou Changxing, a tourist from Shanghai. "But it's too quiet here."

Zhou said he was disappointed that many highly-recommended bars and restaurants were closed, and even Buddhist observances were not held daily at the monastery.

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