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Turpan, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.
The lowest place in China.
Aiding Lake, an inland saltwater lake, is the lowest lake in China. It locates at QiaTekale County, and Turpan city is 50km far away on the north. Aiding Lake has the meaning of moonlight lake in Uygur language. Behind Dead Sea in Jordan (-415m), it’s the second lowest lake in the world, where is the second lowest inland in the world.
Aiding Lake is a large lake in the middle of the Turpan Basin. In Uighur language, Aiding has the meaning of moon, due to the most of the lake is so dry that the bottom of the lake exposes. The crystal is silver-white; it seems like moonlight in the sun. The water source is from surrounding mountains and many artificial subterranean river courses. Turpan Basin is lower than sea level. It’s the second lowest bottom land in the world. The area is about 200,000 hectare, and a large desert is at the east.
Landmark
There is a marble globe sculpture in Aiding Lake Scenic Area, with the words "the lowest place in the world -154.31 meters" engraved on its base, which has become a landmark attraction for tourists to punch in. The roads in the Aiding Lake are in good condition, and the lake can be seen from a distance of more than 100 meters. As you approach, you can feel its vastness and desolation. There is also a beacon tower in the distance, which adds a trace of history to this desert.
Challenge
Due to the extreme high temperature, the travel experience of Aiding Lake is quite challenging. Some tourists once measured the lake temperature at 47°C, which is higher that the temperature of the weather forecast of 42°C. During the period of high temperature of the Aiding Lake, there will be few tourists at the scenic area. Because of the special altitude of Aiding Lake, no matter where you go from Aiding Lake, it is an upward road, this words attract many explorers and photographers.
Konw About the Geographical Differences in China
There are steles on the lakeside that show the altitude and distance of major cities in China, such as Xi 'an 415 meters, Beijing 57 meters and Lhasa 3,656 meters, which make tourists intuitively feel the geographical differences in China, and endow Aiding Lake with the inspirational cultural connotation that there are no lows of lifer after the Aiding Lake.
Aiding Lake is typical continental desert climate with abundant sunshine, abundant heat and extreme dryness. On July 24th, 2015, the weather of Aiding Lake reached 50.3°C, which set a new high temperature record in China.
The intense evaporation has caused the lake area to undergo great changes in history. 249 million years ago, the Aiding Lake covered an area of about 5 million square kilometers, which was the inland sea at that time. In the Han and Tang Dynasties, the area of the Aiding Lake changed to 300 square kilometers. And with the repeated drying and resurrection in modern times, today, its area is only about 60 square kilometers.
Aiding Lake is called Aydingköl in Uygur language, which means the Moon Lake. This is because the white salt layer on the lake is like a bright moon visually. Due to drought, the concentration of salt in the lake is extremely high, forming a vast salt marshes. The central area of the lake is covered with crystal salt, which is rich in mineral resources, and the reserves of salt and mirabilite are about 300 million tons, making it the most mineralized lake in China.
The formation of Aiding Lake can be traced back to the Himalayan orogeny in 249 million years ago. In the long time, it witnessed the vicissitudes from the vast inland sea to the inland saltwater lake. In the winter of 1948, the lake basin of Aiding Lake was once filled with fresh water, mainly from snowmelt water and groundwater in mountainous areas. However, with the expansion of agriculture and the increase of irrigation water, by 1958, the lake surface was only 22 square kilometers, with a water depth of about 0.8 meters. In 2000, the center of the lake even became a muddy swamp, and there was no native birds inhabiting it.
Despite the extreme environment, the flora and fauna resources of Aiding Lake are still rich. There are still various creatures here. Reeds grow luxuriantly by the lake, and occasionally waterfowl can be seen flying over the wetland, which constitutes a unique desert ecological landscape. In addition, meteorites from the sky are piled up in the scenic area, forming a unique meteorite pile landscape.
The best time to visit Aiding Lake is spring and autumn with comfortable temperature. And it is recommended that you avoid to visit Aiding Lake in summer because it is really hot in summer. In spring and autumn, you can see the beautiful color of the lake and the reeds near the lake are impressive.
Aiding Lake is about 35 kilometers from Turpan, you can take taxi or private car to get to Aiding Lake from Turpan.
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