Badain Jaran Desert is located in the Alxa shanmeng of Inner Mongolia. With an area of 47,000 square kilometers, it is the third largest desert in China, remarked as the most beautiful desert by <China national geography> magazine. "Badain Jaran" is Mongolian, transformed from "BaDai". The origins of its name are unknown, said to be named after a person or a habitation place. An old story says there was a man named "Badai" lived here centuries before. And "Jaran" has two meanings. It might be transformed from old Tibetan language, which means "hell", another version means "sixty", expressing the large number of lakes in the desert.
Badain Jaran Desert is famous for its "peculiar peaks, echoing sand, numerous lakes, holy springs and ancient temples". Badain Jaran Desert is between 1100m and 1600m above sea level, and the relative altitude of the sand hill ranges from 200m to 500m. The sand hills account for 61% of the entire area. At the hinterland of the desert, big sand dunes placed at regular intervals by the wind power, which look like huge ocean waves imposing visitors strongly. The ridges wriggle their ways towards horizon, sweeping forward without hindrance.
The highest sand hill is Bilutu peak, with a height of 1617m and relative altitude of 500 meters or more. It is the highest sand hill worldwide, even 70 meters higher than its counterpart in Sahara Desert, also known as "The Everest of the desert". Moreover, Badain Jaran Desert has the largest echoing sand area all over the world, which lies in the echoing-sand-hills. The resonant sound of the sand sounds like thunders and the roars of fighter jets, echoing miles away, so be called "The kingdom of echoing-sand".
There are 113 explored lakes in Badain Jaran Desert, with great variety of shapes with landscapes of different features, also known as "Thousand-lake desert". The trees make a pleasant shade on the coast of the river, and flowers are flourishing as background settings for butterflies and bees. Spring babbles, rippling waves and wandering fish composing a spectacular scenery, praised as "the oasis of the desert".
The largest lake, Nourituhaizi, is 2205 acres large and 28 meters depth. Among the springs in Badain Jaran lakes, the most famous one is named Yinderitu. Once upon a time, there was a monarch of Alxa. He ordered his servants to deliver the water in this lake as his drinking water to their tents thousands miles away via camel packing, thus, it is known as the "Holy Spring". The mouth of the holy spring lies in the middle of the lake, gushing forth the water upon stones. 108 mouths of the holy spring in total are centered on a small island only 3 square meters large. It tastes sweet and cool. The quality is perfectly good.
Badain Jaran Desert has a long history. Potsherds of Stone Age found at the hinterland of Badain Jaran Desert prove that there was once a human race living in this place before 3000 to 5000 years ago. Times change, however Badain Jaran desert never fails to impress the visitors with its extraordinary landscapes. Ancient and mysterious legends come down from generations, cloaking it in magic color and arousing the tourists' infinite fascination.
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