Singing Sand Ravine

Located in the eastern reaches of the Kubuqi Desert, in Telaqi Autonomous County, Ordos Prefecture, Singing Sand Ravine is also called Yinken Xiangsha. Yinken means forever in the Mongolian language. Xiangshawan district is just three kilometers from National Road 210. The city of Baotou is 44 kilometers to the north and the city of Ordos is 55 kilometers east.

Singing Sand Ravine is actually a big crooked sandy slope in the Kubuqi Desert. This moon-like sand dune is as high as 100 meters and as wide as 400 meters, with a 45 degree of inclination. On sunny days, when there is no rain, the sands here are very dry. At this time, when sliding down from the top of the sand dune, one can hear sounds from the sands, just like the sounds of hitting a drum and blowing a bugle.

  Sometimes the sounds are just like the shouting of frogs, and sometimes they sound like the roaring of automobiles or planes. They may even sound like a beautiful and exciting symphony. If several people do it together, they may hear sounds as loud as that of bells, creating a grand atmosphere. The whole sand dune is just like a huge echoing wall, hence the name, Singing Sand Ravine.

At Singing Sand Ravine a cableway leading to the top of the sand hill has been set up, so tourists can get to the top much easier. There are also scaling ladders here for visitors to use. Besides playing on the sand hill, there are a lot of other interesting and exciting activities to do here, including playing on the desert ropeway, sand skating on boards, cart games, riding desert motor vehicles and sand-surfing cars, desert paragliding, horse-riding and camel-riding.

Visitors can enjoy the desert sunrise as well as the sunset, appreciate the sand sculptures, take desert adventures, make a campfire, do archery, and enjoy a unique Mongolian dancing and singing performance called ‘the Wedding in Ordos’. In addition, about two kilometers south of the sand dune, there is a clean desert lake, which, even though it is very small, never dries up all though the year.

Therefore it is quite a precious and rarely-seen desert lake or desert spring.