China has an immense territory totaling 9.6 million square kilometers. On this vast area of land, there are many deserts, large or small, with a total area of nearly 1.3 million square kilometers, accounting for 13% of that of China. Among those deserts there are 12 that can be called large. In the face of these vast deserts, your state of mind turns open naturally.
Takla Makan Desert
Takla Makan Desert is China's largest desert, situated in the middle of the largest Basin, Tarim in Xinjiang Province. This is reputed to be the world's second largest shifting-sand desert covering an area of nearly 340,000 square kilometers. Continuous sand dunes in this large Takla Makan Desert are usually over 100 meters high and some are even higher than 300 meters.
Gurbantunggut Desert
Covering an area of 48,800 square kilometers, Gurbantunggut Desert, China's second largest desert is located in Xinjiang. Its climate is temperate. Its eco-environment is very fragile, and the impact of human activities on the eco-environment, including the building of a trans-desert highway, has been increasingly significant.
Badain Jaran Desert
The Badain Jaran desert is the fourth largest desert in the world roughly 150 kilometers north of the Hexi corridor and covering an area of nearly 47,000 square kilometers. It is home to the largest dunes on earth, the highest of which tower over 450 meters tall and stretch over 5 km in length.
Tenggeli Desert
Located in the south-eastern part of Alxa League with an area of about 42,700 square kilometers, the Tenggeli desert is the fourth largest of its kind in China. It is made up of wandering dunes with the fastest moving speed in China.
Chaidamu Desert
Located in the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai, Chaidamu Desert is the world's highest desert, covering an area of 34,900 square kilometers with the wandering dunes are its main formation. The dunes scatter throughout the desert, crescent-shaped, 5 to 10 meters high averagely. From the long distance, it is just like a golden sand ribbon stretching alone with an absolutely spectacular picture.
Maowusu Sandy Land
Maowusu Sandy Land, located in the south Ordos, covers an area of 32,100 aquare kilometers. The main forms are fixed dunes and semifixed dunes with 5~10 meters high averagely, and few reaches 10~20 meters.
Kumutage Desert
Kumutage lies between Tushantuo Basin and Lop Nur, east it reaches Hami Oasis, west it connected with Aiding Lake, occupies total area of 22,800 square kilometers. Stand on top of the sand mountain, you could watch the sun rising up from desert, and the setting with different and wonderful colors.
Hunshandak Sandy Land
Located in the south Xilinguole Grassland in Inner Mongolia, the Hunshandak Sand Land covers an area of 21,400 square kilometers. The sinuous river and green tree belts make it the most vital desert in China.
Kubuqi Desert
The splendid Kubuqi Dessert means bowstring in the Inner Mongolian dialect. It lies to the south of the Yellow River like a long band extending about 400 kilometers from east to west. The desert is 50 kilometers wide in the west, 15-20 kilometers wide in the east and covers an area of 16,756 square kilometers, making it is the seventh largest desert in China.
Wulanbuhe Desert
Located in the northeast Alxa Plateau,the Wulanbuhe Desert covers an area of 9,900 square kilometers. The desert joins with Moshui River, a branch of the Yellow River, where the water glints in the sunset. The Wulanbuhe Desert is boundless; it seems that it connects with the sky in a very distant place.