Crescent Lake in Dunhuang China
Crescent lake also called Yueyaquan in Chinese is a beautiful
crescent-shaped lake located 6 km south of the Dunhuang city in the arms
of the Echoing-Sand Dune. The Crescent Lake's water is so pure and
clear that it looks like an emerald jewel in the sand. Along the side of
the Crescent Lake is a pagoda in traditional Han Chinese architecture. A
street lined with souvenir stalls leads up from the entrance to the
complex. Many tourists ride camels here, organized by the complex
operators, to get to the summit of the sand dunes.
The lake has
been in existence for at least two thousands, but for the last few
decades it has been gradually disappearing. According to measurement
made in 1960, the average depth of the lake was 4 to 5 meters, with
maximum depth 7.5 meters. In the early 1990s, the area of the lake had
shrunken to only 1.37-acre (5,500 m2) with average depth of 0.9 meter
(maximum 1.3 meter). Crescent Lake has dropped more than 25 feet in the
last three decades while the underground water table elsewhere in the
area has fallen by as much as 35 feet.
In 2006, the local
government with help of the central government started to fill the lake
and restore its depth; its depth and size have been growing yearly since
then.
