The Most Beautiful Desert

The Badain Jaran Desert, located at the bottom of the Yingen Basin in the western part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, covers an area of 49,200 square kilometers. The Badain Jaran Desert is the third largest desert in China. Its main attractions include Badain Lake, Badain Jaran Temple, and the Bilutu Sand Mountain, among others. The desert is home to plant species such as saxaul, Nitraria, Tamarix, Artemisia seeds, Populus euphratica, and camel thorn, as well as dozens of species of wild animals and birds, including swans, wild ducks, argali, gazelles, badgers, foxes, and more. In 2006, the Badain Jaran Desert was selected as one of the '50 Places in China Most Worth Visiting for Foreigners' and won a gold award. It was jointly recommended by the National Tourism Administration and the China Association for Scientific Expedition as one of the first seventeen most representative adventure tourism areas in the country.