Overview
Chinese Name: 月牙泉
English Name: Crescent Lake; Crescent Moon Spring; Yueyaquan
Location: Gansu
Type: Ancient culture and art
Rating Level: AAAAA (5A)
Website: http://www.mssyyq.com/
Brief Introduction
Mingsha Mountain Crescent Lake Scenic Area is located 5 kilometers south of Dunhuang 敦煌, Gansu Province 甘肃省, covering an area of 31200 square kilometers, including Mingsha Mountain 鸣沙山, which is 40 kilometers long in the west of Shandong Province, 20 kilometers wide in the north and south, and its main peak is 1715 meters above sea level. Crescent Lake is surrounded by Mingsha Mountain.
Crescent Lake is surrounded by Mingsha Mountain, and its shape resembles a crescent moon. Mingsha Mountain is 5 kilometers away from the southern suburb of Dunhuang City, named after the sound of sand movement. Mingsha Mountain is formed by quicksand, with five colors of dividend, yellow, green, white, and black.
Crescent Lake Scenic Area was designated as a national key scenic spot in 1994 and won the honorary title of “one of the five most beautiful deserts in China”. On July 20, 2015, it was approved as a national AAAAA tourist attraction.
In January 2016, the National Tourism Administration and the Ministry of Environmental Protection proposed to identify Mingsha Mountain Crescent Lake Scenic Area in Jiuquan City, Gansu Province as a national eco-tourism demonstration area. The 2018 Northwest China Tourism Marketing Conference and Tourism Equipment Exhibition were included in the list of “100 Wonderful Northwest Sceneries”.
What are worth visiting and seeing？
Architectures
Crescent Lake 月牙泉 is surrounded by Mingsha Mountain, and its shape resembles a crescent moon. It was called Shajing in ancient times, also called Medicinal Spring. For thousands of years, the sand mountains have been surrounded by springs, which reflect the sand mountains. In the deep valleys of the sand mountains, “the wind blows with sand, and the springs reflect the moon without dust”. The crescent moon spring has four wonders: the crescent moon shape is as old as ever, the place in the evil place flows into spring, the sand mountain is not submerged in the sand, and people eat the fish in the lake to prolong their life.
Mingsha Mountain is named after the sound of sand movement. It was called “Shajiao Mountain 沙角山” and “The Shensha Mountain 神沙山” in ancient times. The mountain is formed by the accumulation of quicksand. It is about 40 kilometers long from east to west, 20 kilometers wide from south to north, and the highest elevation is 1715 meters.
Its mountains, sand ridges, and peaks are like blades, which is very spectacular. The sand is pink, yellow, green, white, and black, and it is crystal clear and shiny. In case of friction and vibration, it will make a loud sound, with the sound of drums and horns, as light as bamboo, and as heavy as thunder. Therefore, the “clear sound of sand mountains” is one of the “eight sights” of Dunhuang.
“A thousand birds chasing 千鸟追逐” has become a beautiful scene in the winter of the scenic spot. On December 11, 2014, thousands of sparrows flew, foraged, and rested over Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring Scenic Area in Dunhuang City, Gansu Province, presenting a scene of “thousands of birds chasing”.
Scenic activities
Mingsha Mountain Crescent Lake Scenic Area has developed activities such as sand skiing, camel riding, driving desert off-road vehicles, karting, paragliding, and sand bathing.
Mingsha Mountain Crescent Lake Scenic Area currently operates 1215 camel peaks, and more than 400 professional camel pullers from 216 households are engaged in the camel transportation service industry. At the peak of tourism, each camel is limited to 5 trips per day. Route: West of Mingyue Square – Dongshanding – Koizumi Bay. The round-trip fare by camel is 100 yuan per person.
There are 12 sightseeing buses in Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring Scenic Area, each of which can take 10 people, 10 yuan/person for one way and 20 yuan/person for a round-trip.
The main business items of Mingsha Shandong Peak include grass skiing, sand skiing, archery, etc. The grass skiing fee is 25 yuan per time per person; The charge for sand skating is 15 yuan per time per person; Archery charges 1 yuan per piece.
There are 22 desert off-road vehicles in Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring Scenic Area, mainly providing desert adventure tours, desert surfing, and other tourism projects. Route: east side of Mingyue Square ←→ view desert oasis ←→ east mountain top; Charge 300 yuan per car.
Feitian General Aviation Company in Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring Scenic Area mainly operates 5 gliders and 1 helicopter for tourists.
There are 42 desert motorcycles in the Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring Scenic Area, which mainly provide desert exploration, desert surfing, and other tourism projects, with a charge of 120 yuan per person.
Crescent Lake (Dunhuang)
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