Kumtag Desert
2 min readThere are two deserts called “Kumtag Desert in China, One refers to the “Kumtag Desert”located in the southeast of Lop depression which stretches across Xinjiang and Gansu with an area of 22, 800km; and the other one refers to the one in the south of the ancient city of Shanshan, connected with the south section of the Donghuan Road, with an area of 1,880km², whose full name is”Shanshan County Kumtag Desert Scenic Spot” (Shanshan County Kumtagh Desert for short).
Kumtag Desert
Owing to its coverage on the low mountains and hills, the towering sand hills are formed. The tall pyramid-shaped sand dunes enjoy a distribution of large area because of the refraction of the hills to wind, And there are also the feather-shaped sand ridges of about 4,000km2, forming the unique landscape of the desert.
Kumtag Desert has the typical wind-erosion landform of Yardang, ventifacts, and blowout pits, and the dune types of trellis dunes, Crescent dunes, honeycomb dunes, pyramid dunes, star dunes and linear sand dunes, and so on. It is also the main channels for migration and the main habitat for the national first class protected animals-wild Bactrian Camels. Three national reserves have been established in this desert district: Xinjiang Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve, Gansu Annan Dam Wild Camel National Nature Reserve, and Gansu Dunhuang West Lake National Nature Reserve. Kumtag Desert is located in the arid region of northwestern China. More than ten major overland runoffs have passed through the desert and gathered in the Lop Nor depression. The distribution pattern of the thick exposure strata and the surface sand dunes has recorded the evolutionary history of climate water systems and geographical conditions in the northwest arid zone. The disclosure of the series of geographical and geological information has profound scientific value and theoretical significance to the formation and Festival. Shanshan Country has been a strategic area on the ancient Silk Road, and the Western Region civilization has once created a shining charpter here; therefore, digging and carrying forward the Silk Road culture, and reappearing the Silk Road culture through the means of art is the eternal theme of the International Sand Sculpture Festival. The Exhibition Area of the Festival is divided into Silk Road Culture Area, Folk Custom Area, Folk Art Area, Culture Area of Mountain of Flames, and so on, with the preliminary planning area of 10hm² to fully demonstrate the ancient history and culture of Shanshan County and its rich national customs.
