The Yardang Landforms

The Yardang Landforms

The “Yardang Landforms” are found in the Lop Nur region in the northern part of Ruoqiang County, where there are extensive wind-eroded terrains. These are broadly distributed to the east, west, and north of Lop Nur, with the terrain on the eastern side of Lop Nur being the most representative. This wind-eroded zone stretches about 35 kilometers from east to west and around 100 kilometers from north to south, covering an area of 3,500 square kilometers. The mounds here are covered with a layer of white saline soil, some with thick deposits of pure salt, while others consist of white clay-like mud. Under the morning sunlight, they reflect a brilliant silver sheen. Hence, ancient texts refer to them as the “White Dragon Piles.” They serve both as a natural barrier to the east of the ancient city of Loulan and as a necessary passage to reach it.

The Yardangs spread across the Lop Nur region, also called “Yardangs” (or “Yardang” in the local pronunciation), originally referred to the steep hills in the Lop Nur area by the Uyghur people. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Swedish explorer Sven Hedin and British explorer Aurel Stein conducted surveys in the Lop Nur region and mentioned the term “Yardang” in their writings. Since then, “Yardang” has become a globally recognized geographical and archaeological term. In local ancient legends, these landforms were often called the “Dragon City,” named for their resemblance to a dragon-shaped city due to the typical Yardang formations surrounding Lop Nur.

Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a kingdom near Lop Nur where the people lived in poverty, with barely enough clothing or food, while the king indulged in luxury and extravagance. When the Jade Emperor learned of this, he descended to earth disguised as a monk to beg for alms. The tyrannical king only offered him a small amount of salt. Enraged, the Jade Emperor summoned a flood from the Salt Marsh, which submerged the kingdom. After the waters receded, the “Dragon City” emerged. During the Yuan Dynasty, Italian traveler Marco Polo visited the Lop Nur region and wrote in his accounts: “The journey is flanked by sand dunes and valleys, with no food to be found. Travelers riding at night can hear ghostly whispers.” On clear, moonlit nights, camping within the “Dragon City” makes one feel as though the surroundings, though not an ancient city, are more striking than one.

The wind-eroded earthen mound clusters distributed across the northern part of the Lop Desert cover an area of approximately 2,600 square kilometers. Due to the frequent and strong winds in the Lop Nur region over the years, numerous ravines have formed at the base of the mounds. These earthen platforms take on various shapes—sometimes resembling a massive fleet, other times countless whales surging and dancing through the sea of sand, or like pavilions and towers, or even ancient fortresses. Amidst these mysterious, deep, and bewildering clusters of mounds, one is surrounded by strange and spectacular “pavilions and terraces” that stir the imagination and captivate the heart, making it hard to leave.