Five Most Beautiful Deserts of China

#1. Badain Jaran desert

The Badain Jaran desert is the fourth largest desert in the world roughly 150 kilometers north of the Hexi corridor and covering an area of over 49,000 square kilometers. It is home to the largest dunes on earth.

#2. Taklamakan Desert

The Taklamakan Desert, lying in the center of the Tarim Basin and covering some 337,600 sq meters, is the biggest desert in China and the second largest shifting sand desert in the world. Between the Keriya River and the Hotan River in the heart of the desert, the vast sea of sand stretches to the horizon.

#3. Gurbantunggut

The Gurbantunggut lies in Xinjiang Junggar Basin. Some 48,000 sq meters in area, it is China’s second largest desert. Fixed or semi-fixed sand ridges cover 97 percent of the desert. Some 100 plants grow in the desert, many of which make good sand-fixing plants and pasture grass. About a quarter of the annual precipitation falls in winter.

#4. Booming Sand Dune and Crescent Spring

The Booming Sand Dune and Crescent Spring, five kilometers southwest of Dunhuang City, create an amazing desert view. The dune’s name (Mingshashan) comes from the booming noise made by the sands when people climb up. The Spring’s name (Yueyaquan) comes from its crescent form, cradled in the dunes.

#5.  Shapotou

Shapotou means Sand Slope Head, this name coming from the 2,000-meter-wide and 100-meter-high sand riverbank. Shapotou lies on southeast of the Tengger Desert and north of the Yellow River.