Sand Lake (Shahu)

National Scenic Area And Wetland Park In Ningxia Where The Tengger Dune Field Meets A Large Phragmites Reed Marsh On A Major Migratory Bird Route · Shizuishan, Ningxia

Eighty square kilometres of reed marsh and open water sitting directly against a field of sand dunes at the edge of the Tengger, with the Helan Mountains standing up behind - which is a combination of landscapes that should not occur together and is the entire reason to come. Ningxia is desert province irrigated by the Yellow River, and Sand Lake is where the two systems meet: dunes on one shore, a hundred-odd square kilometres of phragmites reed bed on the other, and a boat ride across the water between them. The marsh is the serious part. It sits on a migration route and holds very large numbers of waterbirds in spring and autumn - cranes, swans, geese, herons and one of the significant breeding populations of certain gulls and terns in north-west China - which is why the site carries a national wetland designation and why birders come. The rest of the year the operation is desert recreation: camel rides, sand sledding, buggies. Knowing which visit you are booking matters more here than at almost any other site in this batch.

Shahu Scenic Area, Pingluo County, Shizuishan, Shizuishan, Ningxia, China

Scenic area open daily, generally 8:00-18:00 in summer and shorter in winter, with most operations reduced or stopped once the lake freezes. BASE ENTRY DOES NOT INCLUDE THE BOAT, and the boat is how you reach the dunes - buy the combination ticket. BOATS STOP IN HIGH WIND, which is frequent. Bird numbers are strongly seasonal: spring and autumn migration are the point, and summer is desert recreation.

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