Mongolia: Dadain Jaran Desert

Located in western Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region and the North of Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province, Badain Jaran Desert covers a total area of 47,000 square kilometers.

Being the third largest desert in China and the forth largest in the world, the annual precipitation here is less than 40 mm, but what really surprise you is that there are over 100 lakes in Badain Jaran Desert. The whether there is very different from that of Xian. The cloud-kissing sand dune, as well as mysterious singing sand, quiet lakes and wetlands presents you a gorgeous desert landscape, which makes it a hot-spot and an ideal place for exploration.

So far, no one has arrived in northwest of the desert. With altitude ranging from 1200 to 1700 meters, the relative altitude is over 500 meters, therefore it is renowned as “Desert Everest”. Geologically, the desert belongs to Alashan block. It consists of denuded monadnock and hollows in mountainous area. With Quaternary sediment covering on the surface, it form a vast Gobi desert.

Peculiar mountain, singing sand, lakes, mysterious spring and temple are called the “Five Miracles of Dadain Jaran”. Due to wind stress, the sand dunes take on wave and tower shapes. There are 113 lakes scattering in the desert, among which 74 lakes have water all year around, and 12 are freshwater lakes, accounting for a total water area of 4.9 mu.

The above essay is originated from the website http://www.travel-xian.com/xian-tours