The Enchanted Five-Colored Agate Lake

The Enchanted Five-Colored Agate Lake

Located in the desert northwest of Bayin Gobi Sumu, Urad Rear Banner, Inner Mongolia, Agate Lake covers an area of 6 square kilometers. It is a dried-up lakebed where agate stones are exposed on the surface. In hues of light yellow and light red, these stones are scattered across the lake bottom—some as large as fists, others as small as beans—crystal clear and dazzlingly radiant.

What makes Agate Lake so unique is that its bottom and surroundings are covered with glistening, bright red, translucent, and adorable agate pebbles. Bathed in the unique blue sky and sunlight of the desert, they shine brilliantly, resembling a carpet woven from gemstones—an extraordinarily spectacular sight. Visitors here feel as though they’ve entered a magical five-colored fairyland. Even more breathtaking is the phenomenon seen at sunset: dozens of kilometers away, one can watch the agates in the lake dye the slanting sunlight red and refract it up into the sky. If white clouds drift by, the refracted light transforms them into a kaleidoscope of colors, a truly soul-stirring spectacle.

A few years ago, herders living near Agate Lake often collected some agate stones to take home for admiration, though they were unaware of their value. When news spread, several opportunistic outsiders rushed to Urad Rear Banner to buy the agate stones at low prices, leading to severe damage to the agate resources. The local government quickly became alert and strengthened management, prohibiting anyone from digging for stones in the lake. According to my old friend, Mr. Hu Yifeng, former Chairman of Bayannur League, to prevent the magical Agate Lake from vanishing from the Gobi, in addition to banning stone mining, efforts have also been accelerated to restore and develop the ecological environment around the lake—creating a favorable ecological setting to ensure the lake’s lasting presence.