Gurbantunggut Desert Interior [Changji]

"One of Top Five Most Beautiful Deserts in China"
Ranked by China National Geoegraphy Magazin

Gurbantunggut Desert Interior in Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region: Blood vessels of the desert

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. There are several thousand hectares of well-protected virgin saksaul forest in the depths of the Gurbantunggut Desert.

The Manas River wriggles its way northwest along the edge of the desert, finally disappearing into the desert. It is the dividing line between desert and oasis. The river had almost vanished, its course intercepted by several dams along its upper and middle reaches. All that now remains of the famous Manas River is just a dry riverbed left as a spillway. The Gurbantunggut Desert is the northwest wind's masterpiece, the image of the invisible wind on the ground. From west to east, a northwest wind, as wide and as long as the desert, lies in the Junggar Basin. The Karamay Gobi is certainly the start of the Gurbantunggut Desert, as it is here that the strong northwest wind starts blowing up sand and making dunes. There is endless desert, but no high dunes, just an occasional small dune standing on the desert, like a solitary animal facing east.

When the wind blows, it seems to run, but it is still there when the wind stops. But perhaps what we now see is not the one that was there originally. The sand, filling everything between earth and sky, runs and runs, forming the awesome Gurbantunggut Desert not far away. When it reaches the Jiangjun Gobi, the northweat wind is blocked by the Baytik Mountains between China and Mongolia, and turns south towards Hami (Kumul). The desert expands southeastward, following the wind. Once past Urho, known as the ''devil's city'', the wind turns to another famous Xinjiang ''devil's city''----Longcheng, and enters Lop Nur. The Karamay Gobi and the Jiangjun Gobi represent the head and tail of a huge desert, and the start and end of the strong northwest wind. Several years ago, an oil prospecting team built a road from east to west in the heart of the desert.

Best time to go
From September to December next year.

Ticket
No ticket

Around Landscape
Five-colors City, Guihuamu (The Wood-root) Fossil, Qitai Devil's City, Dinosaur Valley, Manas National Reserve Area, Carnelian Mountain, Ruin of the Ancient City of Beiting, Royal Buddhism Temple Ruin of Gaochang, Dongdi Grand Temple, etc.

Local Snacks and Specialties
Mulberry, Awei mushroom and cuisine made by Hui Nationality, etc.

Travel Tips
Much more cost! Much more difficult! Much more challenge!
Pay attention to the time! Beijing time here means that the sun doesn't rise until 09:00 and it is still light at midnight in the summer months.
Be sure to take warmer clothes for the nights and always carry plenty of drinking water even in the cooler months.
Be sure to respect local ethical customs and traditions.
You must transact the laissez-passer.
Please take sunbonnet, sunglass, umbrella, and suntan oil in summer.

Distance
Beijing (3768 km) Urumqi City (42 km)Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture