THE TAKLAMAKAN - A SHORT ADVENTURE İN SAND

I don't know why but I love sand dunes. Those moving mountains of sand appeal to me much more than high mountains or  snowy slopes. That is why during a trip to China in 2009, I was totally carried away by what I experienced in one single day in the Taklamakan Desert.

The Taklamakan Desert is in the south-western part of the Xinjiang (Sincan) Uyghur (Uygur) Autonomous Region in north-west China. It is China's largest desert and  the world's second largest shifting sand desert, with sand dunes covering 85% of the area.  It is bordered on three sides by  the Pamir, Kunhun and Tian Shan mountains and on the fourth side by the Gobi Desert, making the area one of the most difficult to live in the world. Nevertheless, a wide range of people have passed through the Taklamakan, settling in oasis towns, such  Mongols, Tibetans, Uyghurs and mostly Chinese since in ancient times all wanted to control the important Silk Road trade across Central Asia. The present population consists largely of Turkic Uyghur people.
In Uyghur language, Takla Makan means ''you can get into it but never out''. The desert is also known as the ''Sea of Death''. And the reason is that there is very little water in the desert and it is extremely dangerous to cross it. So dangerous that the Silk Road divided into two here, one  route going north and the other south, both encircling the Taklamakan and joining again afterwards.
Continuous sand dunes in this large desert are usually over 100 meters high and some even reach 300 meters. Because of northern winds, those sand dunes are always moving forward and it has been calculated that they advance by 150 meters every year, threatening the existence of oasis and the local population. In the past 50 years, the Chinese Government has made a great effort to plant trees to reduce the encroachment of the sand.

I visited one small section of the Taklamakan (the total area is 33.700 square kilometer) which is near the oasis town of Dunhuang . And I thoroughly enjoyed that day in the sand.

DESERT VİEW BEHİND AN OASİS

INCREDİBLE SAND DUNES

     

TRY CLİMBİNG ONE - İT İS ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK

The funny thing is that here the sand dune became a snow slope and at one place you can climb the dune and let yourself down on a sledge. I found something much more interesting to do and did not try this.

Desert means camels. So we started by a short camel trip to reach Crescent Lake. Riding a camel is very uncomfortable as far as I am concerned . You sway left and right while the camel walks. But the most difficult part for the novice is to get down from it. My first camel ride was around the pyramids in Egypt in the 1970's. When time to step down had come, nobody warned me that the camel would first throw itself forward, bending its front legs. The rear legs are bent afterwards.  And I had found myself clenched to the neck of the animal, cheek to cheek with a camel. I have been forewarned since that day, and now I know how to hold myself when a camel stop. But that does not make the whole journey more comfortable.

                              



OUR CAMELS ARE WAİTİNG FOR US

                              

                                   

                             

HERE WE GO

Just as oil and water do not mix, so do desert and lake. But Crescent Lake in the Taklamakan Desert is an exception. About six kilometers from Dunhuang city, and surrounded by the Murmuring Sand Mountain (a huge sand dune), Crescent Lake is a wonder, looking like a crescent fallen in the middle of the desert. One wonders how come the sand did not cover it. Research was carried out and it was discovered that the wind created the depression where the lake lies, and the falling sand would be sent back to the other side by the Murmuring Sand Mountains. Thus the sands do not cover the lake and their paradoxical existence goes on.  

The lake has been in the middle of the sand for at least two thousand years but for the last decades it has been gradually disappearing as its underground waters have been used for agriculture in the nearby oasis. Its size has been reduced to one third of what it was and its depth, reaching four to five meters in the past, is less than one meter today. In 2006, realising the danger, the Chinese Government started to fill the lake with water and restore its depth. Since then the lake has been growing in size again. On the shore of the lake, lies is a Buddhist monastery.

You are right to wonder if I took that last picture and how . Very simple answer : I flew. I really did and it was great. While looking at those incredible sand dunes, I noticed there was something looking like a tiny runway on the left . So I went there and realised you can fly over the desert and the oasis in a ''flying motorcycle'' (I am sure those vehicles have a name , but I could not discover what they are called even today). Anyway, here I am ready to fly. First they gave me a motorcycle cask , made me sit at the back, the driver/pilot  sat at the front , I grabbed his waist, engine on, a little speed on the tiny runway and here we are in the sky. My motorcycle flies.  

THE TİNY RUNWAY

A FLYİNG MOTORCYCLE İS LANDİNG

ME AND MY FLYİNG MOTORCYCLE

LAST CONTROLS ARE MADE

MY DRİVER/PİLOT

I flew for half an hour and it was an incredible experience to see a whole sea of sand waves, going as far as the eye can see, and on the other side, meeting the green of an oasis. As you are in open air, with the wind blowing in your face, you feel a deep sense of freedom and that is worth it.  

TOURİSTİC CAMEL CARAVANS

DESERT AND OASİS

THE MEETİNG OF SAND AND TREES

I can only say that I loved my single day in the Taklamakan Desert. I would not advise anybody to go that far for one single day, but if you are visiting Xinjian in China, go for the experience.