New World Heritage: Badain Jaran Desert—Sand Dunes and Lakes

On July 26, local time, at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India, China's application for the Badain Jaran Desert—Sand Dunes and Lakes successfully passed the review and was included in the World Heritage List. The Badain Jaran Desert is located on the Alxa Plateau, in the extremely arid temperate desert region of northwest China. It is the third largest desert and the second largest mobile desert in China. This area is known for its rolling high sand dunes and numerous lakes between the dunes, showcasing the ever-changing geological and geomorphological features of the desert landscape. Key landmarks of the Badain Jaran Desert include the world's highest stationary sand dune (with a relative height of 460 meters), the densest desert lakes, the most extensive singing sand area, and diverse wind-eroded landforms. Such a unique landscape demonstrates the extraordinary natural aesthetic value of the Badain Jaran Desert, showcasing important, typical, and continuous aeolian geomorphological processes on Earth, while also serving as a rich and diverse habitat for various species.