Kubuqi Desert

　　The vast desert stretching eastward resembles a drawn bowstring, forming a colossal golden bow shape. The boundless desert, the long river like a ribbon, the endless sea of sand, and the round morning sun create a grand and majestic spectacle. Also known as the Kubuqi Desert, it is located in the northern part of the Ordos Plateau in Inner Mongolia and is the seventh largest desert in China, situated in the northeastern part of the Kubuqi Desert. It features the magical Singing Sand Bay, a masterpiece of nature. Visitors can freely sandboard and surf down the sand dunes, experiencing the phenomenon where the sound moves with the person and stops when they halt, exploring the century-old charm of Singing Sand Bay. The eastern, central, and western parts of the desert each have their own unique characteristics. The central and eastern sections receive more rainfall, while the western part enjoys abundant heat. The central and eastern areas have several seasonal gullies originating from the northern side of the plateau ridge, running vertically through the region, characterized by long gullies, summer floods and winter dryness, and high sediment content. Along the gullies that flow through the desert, there are often terraces of varying sizes. The groundwater lies deep, and the soil fertility is relatively high, resulting in scattered oases and forming a relatively favorable microclimate. The western part has very little surface water and lacks water sources, with only the Sharimolin River flowing northwest and disappearing into the desert. The groundwater in the western end and northern part of the desert is influenced by the Yellow River, resulting in better water quality, and it is also within the Yellow River irrigation area.

　　The Kubuqi Desert, located within the Hanggin Banner of Ordos City, is one of China’s seven major deserts. Known as the “world’s largest ovoo,” it is situated here.

　　Looking up, the grandeur and magnificence of the ovoo are truly breathtaking, and its top is difficult to take in at a single glance. The lotus vase at its peak is cast from 5.6 tons of pure copper, symbolizing the 56 ethnic groups of China, and the engraved lotus patterns carry unique symbolic meanings in Buddhism.

　　Compared to the ovoos scattered across the depths of the Inner Mongolian grasslands, this world’s largest ovoo in the desert shows significant differences in architectural form. Most ovoos on the grasslands are built from stones, whereas this one is constructed from 99,999 stones gathered from the Daqing Mountain in Inner Mongolia, standing 20 meters high and 45 meters in diameter.

　　Worshiping and praying for blessings in front of the ovoo

　　Ovoo, in Mongolian, translates to “pile” or “heap” in Chinese. Ancient Mongolian herders often piled up stones to form ovoos, placing them at crossroads to indicate directions. Later, Genghis Khan would worship the ovoo before each military campaign to pray for victory. Nowadays, ovoos have gradually evolved into altars for worshipping deities, ancestors, and heroes.

　　Address: Within the Hanggin Banner of Ordos City