Lop Nur seems to have its own mysterious elements, attracting many explorers from ancient times to the present. Located in the territory of Ruoqiang County, Lop Nur was once the second largest inland lake in China, but now it is deserted, and it is difficult to associate it with trickle water and oasis, but its "past life" is not so.
Once known as the Salt Ze, Calamus Sea, Peacock Sea, etc., from the name you can imagine that here should once be a huge lake like a vast ocean, passing herders or caravans, may bring horses, camels here to drink some water, they also wash the sand and fatigue along the way, rest and then set off, towards the long distance. Lop Nur seems to be a short-term destination on the way to the desolate road, like a fairy wandering in the Milky Way, and also needs the bright stars in the sky as a guide.
How can the history of Lop Nur be traced back? Probably at the end of the third century, it existed here, and at first it was a few large depressions. Later it became a huge lake, and the history books once described Lop Nur as "three hundred miles wide, its water pavilion, winter and summer do not increase or decrease", which shows the vastness of Lop Nur and the amount of water, and even once there was a misunderstanding of the voice, that Lop Nur is the upper reaches of the Yellow River, of course, this statement has long been self-defeating.
The lake waters of Lop Nur also nourish a mysterious country, the ancient country of Loulan. Once due to the diversion of the Tarim River, the lack of water in Loulan, once led to the people unable to survive, the garrison led troops to the vicinity of Loulan, the water of Lop Nur was diverted to Loulan to relieve the urgent need, but the good times were not long. Although Lou Lan flourished for a while, it still dissipated like a cloud of smoke, and now the traces left behind are like a riddle, waiting for future generations to guess, speculate about its original appearance and why it disappeared.
Loulan has also become a cinnabar mole in the hearts of many people, and when they go to Lop Nur, they always think that they can see the ruins of Loulan now.
As if the disappearance of Loulan is also heralding the future of Lop Nur, the last qing dynasty, when the water flow rises, you can also see that the area is not large is a small lake, but it did not disappear immediately, in the early nineties of the last century, because the Tarim River was diverted again, the water flowed into Lop Nur again, accumulating over time, here became a large lake of more than 2,000 square kilometers, until 1941, the Soviet Union surveyed and drew a map, the lake area here reached 3,000 square kilometers ... After experiencing ups and downs, Lop Nur eventually dried up due to people's unscientific claims on the Tarim River.
In 1972, the "big ears" left behind after Lop Nur dried up were clearly seen in the photos of the American Satellite Institute, so some experts and scholars believe that Lop Nur disappeared in 1972, but the specific drying time is still very controversial. Now this "big ear" is marketed by some people as the center of the no-man's land of Lop Nur and it is really impossible to understand how the big ear passed through the provincial road has become the core of the no-man's land. If such inaccessible provincial highways are no-man's land, then there are many "no-man's lands" in China.
The red line is a provincial highway
However, this "big ear" can also become one of the signs of some friends who want to go to no man's land to avoid lightning, if the attractions about Lop Nur are centered here, then you can give up this trip. But then again, there is no "big ears", what attractions should Lop Nur have, and the Raiders will make a brief introduction for everyone in the next article.
Beijing Maggie Ami Tibet Travel, focusing on niche travel routes, more Tibetan area travel niche routes, no man's land crossing, Tibetan area travel information Welcome to pay attention to the WeChat public account: Sichuan-Tibet Line (on the Sichuan-Tibet Line, these three words, plus yellow V certification, the same as the head of this subscription number), we set off together to see the beauty of western China that others can't see.