The White Horse pagoda is also known as the Baima pagoda. It is located on Baimata Road. This area is easiest reached by walking. We walked from the Shazou Ancient City ruins by heading south on Gucheng Road and turning left at the first major intersection, Baimata Road. There was quite a bit of construction taking place in this area when we visited, so care should be taken. Baimata Road is narrow and does not have sidewalks, so again care should be taken when walking here. Another option is to take the # 3 bus to Mingshan Road and get off at the intersection with Yeuying Road. Walk in a westerly direction and cross the Baimata Bridge, and continue west on Baimata Road, until the Pagoda complex is seen on your left. The entrance to the temple area is through a set of three arches. The ticket office is to the right of the gate, and the cost of entry is RMB15. You then walk on a passageway in the old temple complex which has beautiful paintings on the underside of the roof and red columns. Unfortunately the buildings were in need of maintenance, as the paint was stripping in many places. At the end of the corridor are faded buddhist paintings on the wall and an incense burner. On the other side of the wall is the history of the pagoda in mandarin and english. The pagoda is in an open area to the rear of the complex. It has nine sections and has bells at the corners of the 8th section. The pagoda was surrounded by a black iron perimeter fence. The pagoda is 12 meters high, and was built in 384, in honour of the white horse of Kumarajiva, a famous monk, who brought buddhist scrolls from India. The horse died transporting the scrolls to Dunhuang. It was a important place on the silk road, as accommodations were provided here for travelers. There is a small garden to the rear of the complex which has lovely shade trees, but seemed a bit overgrown. A table to the left on entry had a few souvenirs available. The pagoda is is not a must see, but if you have time it is a relaxing walk in a part of Dunhuang where there will be few tourists. The Baimata Bridge has a few reliefs that show the famous monk and his horse.

A taxi should only cost 20 Kuai, but it really isn't that far out of town for a walk. The street is marked with an English sign, and you can see some of the rural aspects of life in Dunhuang, like mountains of corncobs drying in the sun. It's 15 Kuai to get in, and it's very peaceful. We enjoyed the sun and ate on one of the many benches around. One tourist arrived while we were there. Nice picnic location.