There is a small lake half-moon in shape in the Gansu Province of China. It is located only 6 kilometers to the south from a city of Dunhuang and would not be remarkable at any way except for it`s location. This lake, called Yueyaquan in Chinese, currently spreads itself 218 meters long and 54 meters wide in the middle of the Gobi desert, forming an oasis along the ancient Silk Route and has been known for 2000 years for its clear spring. For all this time the small oasis was kept in existence by a fragile natural balance.
Map Of Crescent Moon Lake in Dunhuang, China
This region does not get much rain in any given year and is very hot during summer, but due to its position when sand does not fall in and low attitude it has been surviving all these centuries to attract people from near and far. The shores of a lake are decorated by an ancient buddhist temple, named the White Horse Pagoda, 39.4 feet height, which resembles up-turned lotus petals with a multitude of bells that chime in the wind.
It was build during the Ming Dynasty somewhere between 1368 and 1644 and a legend says that it was named after a white horse of Kumarajiva, a master of the Buddhist dharma, who traveled to China through the Gobi desert to bring the Buddhism. A nearby town full of historic sites and the lake made a World Heritage Site attract many tourists. Here visitors find camel rides, 4×4 rides, and the dune surfing.
While it brings financial advantages to the local community, there is also a downside. Building a dam thirty years ago and an increasing number of people seemingly destroyed the natural balance, which led to a rapid local desertification and a steady decline in the depth of the Crescent Lake. By the early 90s the lake had shrank to the third of its original size and currently Chinese government employs measures to restore and save it for enjoyment of the future generations.
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