The Badain Jaran Desert with its stunning sand towers and lakes, is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
China’s World Heritage sites have increased by 3 this year, and the Badain Jaran Desert – Towers of Sand and Lakes is one of them. As China’s third largest desert, it was added to the List by UNESCO in July.
There are many legends about the Badain Jaran Desert. Locals said the desert was once a vast grassland where a Mongolian shepherd named Badain lived. Badain came to the desert, discovered freshwater lakes, and settled down. Badain was a hardworking and kind man. He knew every inch of the grassland and loved the land where he lived.
As a magnificent natural landscape, Badain Jaran is the location of many film and television works. The TV version of famous Chinese novelist Nan Pai San Shu’s mystery novel Tomb of the Sea was filmed here. The Gutong Jing (古潼京) mentioned in the Tomb of the Sea is located in Badain Jaran, where lies the secret of immortality.
Although Badain Jaran’s drought is beyond imagination, it has over 100 lakes between some of the highest sand dunes in the world. Some media reports say the desert gets its name from its lakes, meaning “mysterious lakes” in the Mongolian language.
The Daghtu Lake is a pink one. Two different theories try to explain the particular color: the special minerals in the water, or brine shrimp, a micro creature living in salt lakes.
Beyond the colorful lakes, the desert is home to the other “four wonders”, namely, sandy peaks, singing dunes, clear springs, and ancient temples. The reason for sand singing is just because the desert has multiple tall dunes. The dunes can produce a mysterious booming sound when the wind blows.
These spectacular attractions in Badain Jaran have lured thousands of tourists to punch in every year, including overseas tourists.
Written by Liu Sha, pictures created by Wang Di.
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