Badain Jaran Desert & the colorful mountains
Qinghai and Gansu combined tour- From the rolling, green mountains to the vast, Gobi desert in inner Mongolia.
Tour info
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Destination: central Qinghai province, north of Gansu and Inner Mongolia Main attractions: Rebgong; Tibetan traditional Art center, Labrang monastery, the colorful mountains in Zhangye, and Gobi Deserts in inner Mongolia Season: from May-October Trip length: 8D7N Group size 2-6 |
Itinerary at a glance D01. Xining- the capital city of Qinghai province. D02 .Rebgong(Tongren) Tibetan cultural area. D03.Labrang (Xiahe) Tibetan cultural area. D04. XINING. Back to Xining. D05. Zhangye- colorful mountains; Danxia. D06 Badain Jaran Desert. Mongolian cultural area. D07. Zhangye D08.Catch the TGV train back to Xining & transfer to Airport. |
The location of Badain Jaran Desert is in the west of Inner Mongolia and in the center of the Alxa League. It’s the fourth largest desert in the world and the third-largest desert in China, with an area of 47,000 square kilometers (18,150 square miles). However, about 10,000 square kilometers (3,860 square miles) of the desert have not been touched by human beings. It’s also the most beautiful desert in China, famous for the world’s tallest sand dune- Bilutu Dune, the world’s largest singing sand area - Baoritaogaile, many lakes, and oases including the famous lake - Badain Lake, the magic spring- Yinderitu, and the ancient temple in the isolated desert - Badain Jaran Temple. The strange and charming scenery attracts many people to visit, explore and take photos.
Badain Jaran is the Mongolian language. It is said that a person, called Badain, once lived here so the place is called that. The meaning of Jadran is sixty in Mongolian to indicate this place has a number of lakes. Once upon a time, Badain Jadran wasn’t a desert region and there were mountains, rivers, and grasslands. In Ulanhot, a big city of Badain Jaran, an emperor went to Lhasa to bless the country’s rich and people’s health. After the emperor went to Lhasa, the courtiers convinced his son the emperor went there just to pray the son to die. The silly son believed them and killed his father. After the emperor died, the sand fell from the sky for seven days. Henceforth, the kingdom disappeared, and Badain.
What to see in Badain Jaran Desert?
There are many lakes ( salty lakes except the last one) and camels, dunes, donkeys, temples, sandhills. And the worlds highest duns,
What to enjoy?
With the Mongolians desert expert drivers you can have lots of fun in the duns; drive up and down in an acrobatic mode. Stay one night in a yurt and see the sunrise in the dunes. Visit the Buddhist temple.
Following is our best-selected itinerary for travelers who want to see this part of the world. It's also customized to see three different cultural aspects of Tibetan, Han Chinese, and Mongolians in three different provinces; such as Qinghai, Gansu, and Inner Mongolia.
The colorful mountains in Zhangye
Itinerary D01.Xining- Arrival at Xining train station or airport and transfer to hotel. D02. Rebgong- Drive to Rebgong,(Xiahe) en-route visit Shakhyung monastery. Visit the Sange Shong monastery and traditional art village. Thangka painters. D03. Labrang- Drive to Labrang and visit Tashi Khyil monastery, nunnery, and local Tibetan markets. D04. Xining- Back to XINING, but not following the same route, instead, take an excursion route through the mountains. The landscape is Wow for hours to drive. Tibetan families, yaks, sheep, and Marmots along the tiny country road won't let you leave this place easily. D05. Zhangye-Take the fast train TGV D2743, 08:57-10:41 to Zhangye and visit the colorful mountains; Danxia. D06 Badain Jaran- Drive to Badain Jaran Desert. Meet our Mongolian driver with his jeep and hit the road to Badain Jaran. Overnight stay in Mongolian Yurt. D07. Zhangye- in the afternoon, you will return to the Badain Jaran desert entrance and drive back to Zhangye. Hotel D08. Xining airport-Catch the TGV train D2682 10:36-12:30 back to Xining and transfer to Airport. Destination map
