Xinjiang's Arjin Mountain Nature Reserve and Lop Nur were once considered forbidden places for human life. This has also aroused the interest of adventure lovers at home and abroad. "No Man's Land" in people's impression, is a desolate, terrifying world, later, more and more people go deep into it, only to find that there is a magical natural kingdom hidden here, full of mystery.
Today we will walk into the mysterious Lop Nur to find out.
According to the current administrative division, Lop Nur is actually "Lop Nur Town", with an area of about 51,000 square kilometers, which is the largest town in China. It is located in the southeast of Xinjiang, China, bordering the Kumutag Desert to the south and the Kuruktag Mountains to the north, which is the eastern end of the Tarim Basin and the eastern end of the Tarim River. The Eastern Xinjiang Triangle formed by Turpan-Hami-Lop Nur jointly connects the Hexi Corridor with the hinterland of Xinjiang, and Lop Nur is the closest passage to southern Xinjiang. At the same time, it is also the largest saltwater change lake in China, because of its shape like a human ear, known as the "ear of the earth", and later because the lower riverbed of the Tarim River flowing into the lake was silted by wind and sand, diverted to the south, Lop Nur gradually dried up, reduced to a salt layer and barren desert, and finally became a terrible place where people talk about tiger discoloration.
This dry lake basin is also a mysterious military forbidden area, a place where atomic and hydrogen bombs were tested in the western part of China, and was once famous for the rise of the "mushroom cloud".
In the territory of Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang, near the western end of Lop Nur, there is a desert oasis, where the Malan Nuclear Weapons Experimental Base was established in 1958. Because the Malan base is close to Lop Nur in the hinterland of the Taklamakan Desert, it is also called the Lop Nur Nuclear Test Site. The code name of the unit stationed here was 8023, which was later changed to Unit 89800. The entire Malan nuclear weapons test site covers an area of more than 100,000 square kilometers, equivalent to the area of a Jiangsu Province, and is mainly responsible for the organization and command, theoretical research, test analysis, engineering technology and service support of the national nuclear test (experiment). China's first atomic and hydrogen bombs were tested here, and from 1964 to 1996, China conducted a total of 45 nuclear tests in Lop Nur.
Today's Malan base is located on the map in Dazhuangzi Village, Ushtara Township, Heshuo County, Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, and the Malan base has become a patriotic education base. The former Gobi military camp has become a modern miniature city lined with trees and sparkling lakes. Not far from the west gate of the living area, there is a quiet cemetery, and at the entrance of the cemetery stands a monument inscribed by Zhou Guangya, the father of the two bombs. For decades, generations of Maran people have carried the national mission, loyally shared the worries of the party, pledged themselves to the country, fought tenaciously, and made silent contributions. More than half a century has passed, the mushroom cloud over Lop Nur has long since dissipated, and the Gobi has returned to its former tranquility. However, the merits of the Marans will not be forgotten by the motherland.
The Classic of Mountains and Seas refers to Lop Nur as "Youze", which means the lake where many waters gather, and is also known as the "Lake of Immortals", which was once full of people, lights, and Loulan City. Lop Nur is famous for being the fortress of the ancient "Silk Road", and Lop Nur and the ancient country of Loulan, which flourished because of it, attracted many explorers from home and abroad to investigate. However, due to various reasons, today's Lop Nur has no grass and is deserted, becoming a place of adventure, leaving behind the souls of many explorers.
Sven Hedin, the forerunner of the Lop Nur expedition, experienced nine deaths in Lop Nur and suffered several disasters; In the 1980s and 1990s, Peng Jiamu and Yu Chunshun remained here forever.
On June 17, 1980, Peng Jiamu, a famous scientist and vice president of the Xinjiang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, camped near Kumukuduk, at that time, there was little gasoline and water left, in order to solve this difficulty, he continued to go east to investigate, he went out alone to find water and went deep into the desert, unfortunately disappeared. Pengam's sudden disappearance has been a mystery for 20 years, and his body has never been found. Some say he fell into the swamp of Lop Nur and others speculate that he was buried by wind and sand or injured by wild beasts.
On June 11, 1996, when he was about to complete the feat of trekking through the entire territory of Lop Nur in Xinjiang, the explorer Yu Chunshun was unfortunately lost in Lop Nur . On the 18th, rescue teams found the remains on the west bank of Lop Nur . On the 19th, in accordance with the practice of the exploration community and the last wish of "lying wherever you go", his body was buried.
The limitations and prejudices of history and today have also created many falsehoods, which have cast a mysterious color on Lop Nur .
Some people call the Lop Nur region a "devil's triangle" on the Asian continent, through which the ancient Silk Road passed, and legend has it that ghosts roamed here, and dry bones were everywhere. From ancient times to the present, there are people who have disappeared or died inexplicably in Lop Nur and this mysterious wasteland have been lost, pondered, argued, and even dedicated to it for thousands of years.
In fact, the existence of the "ban" is due to the protection of biodiversity. Although the environment in Lop Nur is extremely harsh and is known as a "no-man's land", it is not completely lifeless. In fact, there are not only many national key protected animals in Lop Nur, such as snow leopards, Tibetan wild donkeys, northern goats, etc., but also a variety of rare plants, poplar forests, shuttles, naked fruit trees, etc. However, the biodiversity in Lop Nur is simple, the ecosystem is very fragile, cars are crushed everywhere, which will cause devastating damage to surface vegetation and organisms, and crossers often run rampant in the protected area in the form of several or even dozen vehicles, and the resulting ecological damage cannot be repaired in the short term. What's more, the Lop Nur Reserve is also a critically endangered species in the world, it is the distribution center of the world's wild Bactrians, mainly in the areas with salt springs and salt marshes, the courage is very small, even if the convoy does not actively disturb them, if detected, they will quickly leave. The Xinjiang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has organized scientific expeditions to enter the lake area for investigation on many occasions, and set up a wild camel protection station in Ruoqiang County.
There are many attractions located in the Lop Nur forbidden area: Xiaohe Cemetery, Sun Tomb, Tuyuan Ruins, Longcheng Yadan, Yu Chunshun Tomb, Loulan Ancient City, etc. Although many well-known attractions are in the protected area and the forbidden area, it does not mean that as long as you enter Lop Nur you are illegal. If you want to enjoy the scenery of Lop Nur, Lop Nur Town, part of the Kumtag Desert, Bailongdui Yadan, Dahai Road, Harrow Highway, Milan Ancient City, Dunhuang Yadan Geological Park (part of the ancient Lop Nur) and other "non-forbidden areas" can make you feast your eyes.
Gone are the stories of Lop Nur and the eerie legends. The ruts of time will obliterate the ancient country of Loulan, which was once flourishing, and what is left to us is the decadent ancient city, the endless desolation, the five-colored sand, the twisted poplar, the hard saline shell, and the yadan with thousands of postures.