The Gobi Desert is ranked as the 5th largest desert in the world and is 3 times bigger than Pakistan. In 1978, the Chinese government started The 3 North Shelter Forest Program as the number of deserts were growing each year resulting in the loss of grassland. In 2017, 66 billion trees were planted and are expected to be completed in 2050.

 

The “Gobi Desert” is a name for all the desert areas located in China.

 

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Badain Jaran Desert

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Located in the west of Inner Mongolia. The five unique features of Badain Jaran would be the mountains, the singing sand, the amazing beautiful lake, the mysterious springs and temples. 

 

The best time to visit the desert is from May to October.

 

 

Taklimakan Desert

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 Located in Xinjiang. Taklimakan, which means "go in and you will never come out" in the Uygur language, is also known as "the Desert of Death". The sand temperature in Taklimakan reaches 70-80 degree Celsius during the daylight. Due to the strong evaporation, the plants on the surface are drifting. Often, visitors can see a hazy mirage that appears from afar.

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The best time to visit is from autumn to the following spring days. The gap of 20 days from late-October to mid-November is the golden time to travel across the Taklimakan Desert.

 

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Gurbantunggut Desert

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The centre of Dzungarian Basin located in Xinjiang. The desert is filled with man-made landscape and natural plants growing there. It also has a sufficient source of water. There are many types of flora growing in the desert such as Populus diversifolia, Haloxylon ammondendron, and Mongolian gazelles.

The Best time to travel is all year as it has many attractions that make it welcoming for visitors.

 

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Singing Sand Dunes and Crescent Moon

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This desert is located in Dunhuang City along the ‘silk road’. The sand dunes are 5 kilometres away from the southern city and are famous for producing sounds when the sand moves. The sand has 5 colours which are yellow, black, white, green and red. The scenery is magnificent. The Singing Sand Mountain is surrounded by the green basin, which is filled with a spring of clear water. The shape of the spring looks exactly like a crescent, hence its name “Crescent Moon Spring”.

The coexistence of the sand and spring is indeed a ‘world wander’.

 

May to June is the most suitable period to visit the desert.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Oasis and The Crescent Lake

 

Shapotou Desert

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Located near the north shore of Yellow River, the desert has a huge sandbank of 2,000 meters wide and 100 meters high. When it is sunny and the temperature rises, a person sliding down the Shapo would make a sound like a roar as loud and clear as a ringing bell.

As a result, it is praised as the "Shapo Ringing Bell", one of the four singing sands in China. If visitors stand at the foot of the Shapo and look up, they will see the sand flowing like a waterfall, and feel the enjoyment of hearing a ringing bell and the carefreeness of riding the sand, like falling from heaven.

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Best time to visit is in the summer and autumn.