Why is Dunhuang called Sand City?

Hello, I am Master Jiang, the tour charterer. Shazhou is now Dunhuang City, Gansu Province. Dunhuang is surrounded by Gobi Desert and is located on the eastern edge of the Taklimakan Desert. The desert area has a dry climate, large temperature changes, lack of regular water on the ground, few and short plants, and is a wind-sand landform.

During the Warring States and Qin Dynasties, the Dayuezhi, Wusun and Sezhong people lived in Dunhuang. Later, the Dayue clan became stronger and annexed the original Qiang Rong. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the Huns invaded Hexi and defeated the Yuezhi twice, forcing the Yuezhi people to migrate westward to the two river basins (Sir Darya River and Amu Darya River). The entire Hexi Corridor was the territory of the Huns. After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty succeeded to the throne, he adopted a strategy of both armed defense and active attack. In the second year of Jianyuan (138 BC), he sent Zhang Qian as an envoy to the Western Regions for the first time to contact the Yuezhi and Wusun to attack the Xiongnu. In the second year of Yuanshou (121 BC), the Han Dynasty decided to cut off the enemy's right arm, open up our left arm, and march towards the Hexi Corridor. In the spring of the same year, he sent Hussar General Huo Qubing and led ten thousand cavalry out of Longxi and marched into Hexi, where they won a great victory. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established Jiuquan County and Wuwei County in Hexi. And measures such as fortification, settlement, and immigration were adopted to continuously enrich and strengthen the construction of Hexi. In the sixth year of Yuanding (111 BC), Jiuquan and Wuwei counties were split into Dunhuang and Zhangye counties respectively.

In the first year of Xiankang (335), Emperor Cheng of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Zhang Jun, the former King of Liangwen, established the three counties of Dunhuang, Jinchang, and Gaochang and the three battalions of the Western Region Protector, Wuji Xiaowei, and Yumen Great Protector. It is Shazhou, and the state is governed in Dunhuang.

So Dunhuang was formerly called "Shazhou".

Hope this helps!