Ayding Lake

Ayding Lake

Ayding Lake is a national AAA-level tourist attraction.

Ayding Lake is located in Qiatekale Township, about 50 kilometers south of Turpan City. In Uyghur, its name means "Moonlight Lake." It is an inland saltwater lake, covering an area of approximately 22 square kilometers (in the 1940s, the lake surface once reached 152 square kilometers), with an elevation of 154 meters below sea level (most parts less than 0.8 meters). The Uyghur name means "Moonlight Lake" because its shape closely resembles that of the moon, hence the name. Ayding Lake is the lowest lake in China.

The water of Ayding Lake mainly comes from the Alagou River, formed by the convergence of meltwater from 42 modern glaciers of the Kalawucheng Mountain to the west, and from seven rivers including Baiyanggou River, Dahéyángou River, and Tā’ěrlánggou River, formed by the convergence of meltwater from 183 modern glaciers on the southern slope of Bogda Mountain to the north, as well as groundwater from the snowmelt of the Tianshan Mountains seeping out along the northern edge of the basin. Hundreds of millions of years ago, Ayding Lake was once an inland sea spanning nearly 50,000 square kilometers, with shimmering blue waters and picturesque landscapes. But as time passed, the land transformed dramatically—the lake shrank drastically, and its basin has now turned into barren salt marshes devoid of vegetation. The climate around Ayding Lake is extremely arid, and the landscape is desolately stark, with uniquely developed salt crusts that create a spectacular, untouched primordial scene, thus holding special appeal for tourists.

Millions of years ago, Ayding Lake was a freshwater lake with an area 1,000 times larger than its current size, formed as a result of the Himalayan orogeny 249 million years ago. Today’s Ayding Lake, aside from a very shallow remnant of water in the southwest, mostly consists of wrinkled, dried-up lakebeds, covered in glistening white salt crystals and crusts that sparkle under the sunlight. Local Uyghurs call it the "Moonlight Lake." Near Ayding Lake, people can easily be deceived by mirages and the illusion of a watery surface, often leading them to step into mud traps.

Here, one sees no fish or birds—only occasional swarms of small flying insects and the rare hare or mouse darting across the ground. Due to this unique geographical condition and classic desert landscape, it attracts a continuous stream of domestic and international tourists for sightseeing, photography, and exploration. As Ayding Lake has drastically shrunk and is nearly dried up, turning into a vast salt marsh, the lake center is covered with glistening white salt crystals. In summer, the lake is replenished only by meltwater from snow and ice, but in summer and autumn, intense evaporation dries it up, and the salinity of the lake water is extremely high. People can easily be misled by the “mirages” here. The world’s second-lowest landform, Ayding Lake, features a primitive and desolate environment. To develop the lake’s salt and mirabilite resources, the Qiquanhu Chemical Plant was newly built in 1959. The plant produces refined salt, anhydrous sodium sulfate, and other products, which are continuously sold both domestically and internationally, enjoying widespread popularity among users.