Traditional Chinese Dunhuang Flying Apsaras cosplay and riding camels have gained popularity among tourists in Dunhuang, northwest China’s Gansu Province, this summer.

As the symbol of Dunhuang art, Flying Apsaras are scattered in all the 500 grottoes of the Dunhuang area. They are an embodiment of Gandharva, the God in charge of holy songs and dances, and Kimnara, the God in charge of entertainment. Without wings or feathers, the gods fly in the sky with the support of floating cloth and colored ribbons instead of clouds and wings.

With ancient-styled makeup on their faces, tourists wear delicate light chiffon to imitate Dunhuang Flying Apsaras at the Mingsha mountain and crescent spring scenic spot in Dunhuang to take photos.

Local authorities said nearly a hundred trip shoot studios have opened since this year, mainly focusing on the makeup and hair styling that represents Dunhuang culture.

“I’ve been very busy since early July. I had appointments with customers at 4 a.m. this morning until noon. And at noon, people are reluctant to take photos because of high temperatures at the scenic spot,” said Qiao Ling, a makeup artist of a trip shoot studio.

“Tourists can take photos with the makeup and hair styling of Dunhuang Flying Apsaras only here,” she added.

Riding camels in the desert has also gained popularity among tourists here. “The number of tourists has increased since July, even more than in previous years,” said Liu Ping, a guide of a camel team of the Mingsha mountain and crescent spring scenic spot in Dunhuang. “It takes about 40 minutes to one hour to finish this journey,” he added.

“Around 6:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. are peak hours for tourists to enter the scenic spot and they can see the sunrise and sunset in the desert respectively,” said Zhou Bin, one of the persons in charge of the scenic spot.

“We’ve done a lot of work to ensure tourists can have a good travel experience, such as increasing more sightseeing cars, arranging more sanitation workers for a tidy environment, and maintaining the equipment to ensure safety,” Zhou noted.

Official data shows that Dunhuang has received 2.8 million visits since this year, an increase of 40.79 percent compared with the same period in 2019.