San long Sha Ya Dan

Sanlongsha Yadan is a part of Yadan landform in Lop Nur area. It is located in the east of sanlongsha in Aqike Valley, Xinjiang. The Yadan distribution area is about 10 km wide from east to west and from south to north, covering an area of 100 square kilometers. From a distance, it looks like a fleet moored in the Gobi. The mound of shayadan in Sanlong county is mainly composed of light brown mudstone and sandstone interbedding. At noon, it looks like grinding plates and giant Ganoderma lucidum, shining.

San long Sha Ya Dan

Sanlongsha Yadan is a part of Yadan landform in Lop Nur area. It is located in the east of sanlongsha in Aqike Valley, Xinjiang. The Yadan distribution area is about 10 km wide from east to west and from south to north, covering an area of 100 square kilometers. From a distance, it looks like a fleet moored in the Gobi. The mound of shayadan in Sanlong county is mainly composed of light brown mudstone and sandstone interbedding. At noon, it looks like grinding plates and giant Ganoderma lucidum, shining.

brief introduction

The beauty of Sanlong shayadan lies in its seclusion. It's far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. There are no noisy motors, no busy people, no tall buildings and villas. There are only open spaces, tranquility and nature.

The landform was selected as the third of "China's three most beautiful yadans" by the "beauty China" campaign of National Geographic of China.

As one of the four ghost cities in Xinjiang, sanlongsha has its own unique charm. No matter which city, province or country you enter, you can't feel it. Just as Tiananmen can only be seen in Beijing, sanlongsha is unique. When you enter Lop Nur, you will see the dried up river course of the Peacock River and the ruins of Loulan, and come to sanlongsha, where you will further experience the vicissitudes of history and the ruthlessness of nature. Once rich and beautiful place has become a desert, but this desert still has not forgotten its beauty, and is showing its magnificent beauty in another way.

General situation

The shayadan group in Sanlong is located in the Gobi desert to the west of Yumenguan, at the junction of Gansu and Xinjiang. Because it is located at the edge of Sanlong shayadan, it is called Sanlong shayadan. Sanlongsha is a moving sand dune belt across the eastern part of Lop Nur. It is still affected by the northeast wind and swam at any time. This desert belt is about 100 kilometers long and thousands of meters wide. In the Han Dynasty, the sand belt of tuliangdao was the narrowest, about 200 meters. When the wind blows, the sand is like a snake. When you walk in the wind, the fine sand will circle along your feet to your knees. There is a folk proverb: go fast, quicksand, slow water. Sanlong shayadan is about 10 kilometers long from east to west and 10 kilometers wide from north to south, covering an area of about 100 square kilometers. The height of the platform is 15-20 meters, and most of the platforms can be as long as 200 meters. All the terraces are arranged in long strips, just like a group of giant whales in the vast sand sea, or a series of warships of the whole fleet cruising, majestic. There are different opinions about the cause of the formation, but most people think that it is mainly caused by flood erosion and wind. Most of the structure of the platform has been formed by the Loess of the sedimentary layer, which has different colors. Under the action of the sun's light in the morning, afternoon and evening, it produces different color world, which is fantastic. Since ancient times, this place has been a must for the silk road. If you are lucky, you can also find cultural relics here. However, this place is also known as the haunting place of demons. Because the shape of the platform is similar, it is easy to get lost after walking in. If you encounter a sandstorm, the wind will sound like a ghost crying. The scene is very dangerous and frightening.

Expert comments

Sanlong shayadan is a masterpiece of nature. It is beautiful and desolate. There is also the famous ruins of Loulan ancient city nearby. Nature and culture are well combined. ——Wu Zheng

The dense Yadan group presents all kinds of images in the world: pavilions and pavilions, cars and boats, flying shuttles, human beings, birds and animals, etc. it is the most unique and beautiful area of Yadan landform in China.

——Xia Xuncheng

The most beautiful point

Lop Nur is located in the northeast of Ruoqiang County in Bazhou. It used to be the second largest inland lake in China. In Chinese history, Lop Nur once had a brilliant and brilliant page. It is one of the earliest areas where human activities took place in Xinjiang. The book of mountains and seas recorded the location of Lop Nur: "different mountains, facing the neighboring mountains in the north, facing the Chongzhi mountains in the other mountain, facing the AOZE in the East, are the potential of the river.". Point out that Lop Nur (AOZE) is to the east of Congling (Wuzhou mountain). CEN Shen, a frontier poet of the Tang Dynasty, once described Lop Nor in his poems as follows: "the officers and soldiers went out of Loulan in the west, the moon cave beside the camp curtain was cold, the horse's tail was frozen at the dawn of Pu Hai, and the banners were fluttering in the snow on the green mountain at night.". In Marco Polo's travels, there is also a description of Lop Nor: "along the way, there are sand mountains and valleys, no food to find, and animals are extinct." when pedestrians ride across the desert at night, they fall behind for some reason, and when they travel again, they hear ghost words and make them lose their way several times, so that the number of people who have lost their lives has increased.

Now entering the Lop Nur Lake area, the only feeling is monotony and invariable scenery. The dry lake bed on the ground is full of grey soil color. After more than 30 years of sun exposure, it is hard, crusted and cocked. There are pools of salt everywhere, just like undulating water waves and waves. The off-road vehicle is driving on it, staggering. The car is walking in Lop Nur, just like sailing on the sea. The sky is blue, the air is clear, and there is silence all around. It's full of Yadan, which stands in a forest of earthy yellow. Sanlong shayadan is a wonder that stretches hundreds of miles from east to west. It is named for its three broken stones. The natural environment is very bad, hot and dry, and a long sand belt runs through it, making it difficult for the expedition team to move.

In the Western Han Dynasty, the silk road left Dunhuang in the north and went west along the Shule River, bypassing sanlongsha. On the north side of the broad Shule river bed, a little far away, stands the barren Kuruktag, the mountain is gray and black; on the south bank is the Golden Sand Mountain, rolling and vast, that is the Kumutag desert. In the southern part of the river bed, there are reeds, lush and overgrown; there are clusters of red willows, red and green. Blue sky, yellow sand, green grass and red flowers constitute a rare beauty in the desert. The environment here is harsh and uninhabited, and it is difficult for beasts to survive, so it has become a paradise for some herbivores. Wild sheep, yellow sheep and wild camels often appear in sanlongsha. The wild camel is very similar to the domestic camel. It is small, vigorous and good at running. It is said that when attacked by wolves, they often lead them to the depths of the desert and make them die of hunger and thirst.

In the west of sanlongsha, there is a stele with Bayi spring, also known as Duhu spring. From its name, it has a long history, and now there is not a drop of water. Further to the west is the sweet well. The local people call it yangtakkuke. This generation of land is called kumukuduk (meaning of sand spring). The famous explorer Peng Jiamu once searched for a sand spring with water in kumukuduk, but he did not find it. Now there is a square building site on the side of Tianshuijing, which is empty. It is a rare fresh water spring in the desert, where wild camels often come to drink at dusk. The water from the sweet well flows out slowly from the soil crack of a deep ditch. The amount of water is very small and flows into a small puddle. The puddle is grayish white. It can be seen that although it is fresh water, it also contains salt and alkali.

Rui shayadan group in Sanlong has been officially listed as a national geopark, and part of the location of the famous film hero is completed here.

Scientific viewpoint

The gazelle is a medium-sized animal of the artiodactylus family, and its body size is close to that of the high nosed antelope. The adult gazelle weighs more than 20 kg, is about 1.2 meters long, and has a shoulder height of about 70 cm. Thin and slender, good at running. It has a slender black brown tail 16-17 cm long. The male antelope has a pair of dark brown horns more than 30 cm long on its head, which diverge from the top of its head and bend upward at its end. There are obvious ring lines on the horn, the number of which increases with age, up to 17 more. Its upper body is brown, its ventral surface and tail base are white, and its winter hair is sandy brown, which is suitable for hiding in the desert without snow. As a typical desert and semi desert animal, the gazelle is widely distributed in Xinjiang. From the boundless Gravel Gobi to the undulating residual hills and sand dunes, from the sparsely vegetated river highlands to the Populus euphratica forests along the river, they are found, but there are different subspecies in the northern and southern Xinjiang.

Other highlights

Huyanggou, Xingdi rock painting, Yingpan, Kongque River, Gumugou, atomic bomb test base, Tuyin, Longcheng, Loulan old city, Yu chunshun site, Huxin, kuluktag mountain, dunlik, Milan old city, bailongdui Yadan, Bayi spring, Tianshuijing, Xiaohe site.

Unique culture

As early as the Western Han Dynasty, Zhang Sai's mission to the western regions opened up the ancient Silk Road, which reached today's Xi'an in the East and Europe in the West. From Dunhuang, the ancient road was divided into North and South roads. South Road is to the south of Tianshan Mountain, and North Road is to the north of Tianshan Mountain. After that, a silk road to the north of the Tianshan Mountains flourished, known as the new North Road. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, these three routes were called Nandao, Zhongdao (called Beidao in Han Dynasty) and Beidao (New Beidao). Lop Nor, now a desert no man's land, was one of the main roads of the ancient Silk Road at that time. Ancient books record that when the ancients passed through sanlongsha area, they would feel fear. It is recorded in the biographies of Dawan in historical records and the biographies of the western regions in the history of Han Dynasty that Loulan was founded as early as the 2nd century

Chinese PinYin : San Long Sha Ya Dan