The Taklamakan Desert is uninhabited, desolate, boring, mysterious, and most people think so. But what most people don't know is that it is not lifeless, in the heart of the desert, between the Kumtag Desert and Lop Nur, there is a place called Konrak, Uyghur translates to "swamp land", which has 500 square kilometers of wetlands. Located in the Conlac Wetlands, Lake Conlac consists of 11 lakes of various sizes. The alternation of oases and deserts can plunge one into a beautiful mystery.
However, it is not easy to reach Conlac, although it is only 45 kilometers away from Ruoqiang County, but there is no dirt road, you must drive a hard-duty off-road vehicle to press a road in the sand sea, just such a short section will experience several times of sand traps, it may take more than 5 hours to drive, and then you will find that the road below has to be walked, it takes more than 2 hours to reach this lake group called Kanglac. When you hike, the surrounding environment is less desolate, because gradually there are signs of life, you will see reeds and ducks in the desert, especially in late autumn, the reeds begin to turn yellow, the wild ducks fly up from a distance, and then skim over the reeds, falling farther away, playing and shouting, as if watching over this deep desert paradise.
Conlac Wetland has a total of 11 lakes of all sizes, the deepest part of the lake is 7-8 meters, they seem to be irrelevant, but closely connected, connected to them are reeds, red willows and some green plants, the lake water of each lake is clear to the bottom, standing on the edge of the lake and looking into the distance, you can experience the endless vastness, because you are in front of the lake, in the distance is the sand dune, behind the dune in the distance, or the dune.
The lake in Konrak covers an area of more than 200 square kilometers, is a lake that is basically free of artificial pollution, and there are fourteen species of fish and a shrimp in the lake, of which the schizoty-bellied fish in Xinjiang and the loach of the Yarkand Plateau are ancient species in Xinjiang and are endangered, and can only be seen in this water system in the whole of Central Asia. The water source of Lake Conlac comes from the Kunlun Mountains, and these flowing rivers also turn Ruoqiang into an oasis. Under the blue sky, the desert and the lake are perfectly integrated.
The lake also has a positive impact on the local area, in the past, the fish sold in Ruoqiang County was transported from Korla by merchants, and now people have begun to fish from Konrak and send it to the market in the county seat for sale. Thus, the history of Ruoqiang County not producing fish ended, and the production of real wild fish. The lake was only officially opened to the public in 2014, and it must also have relevant procedures to enter, and the local government can not receive more than 30 tourists a day in order to protect the fragile ecology here, plus it is located in the heart of the desert, and there are very few people who can see the beautiful scenery.
Who would have imagined that just 80 years ago, Lop Nur would have been a vibrant sight. When Lop Nur has faded its former civilization and splendor, the ecological wonders of Lake Kanglak in Ruoqiang County, Xinjiang, seem to take us back to 80 years ago, like a miniature Lop Nur. Sand in the lake, lake in the sand, is an indescribable beauty, to Ruoqiang to play in the small friends can not miss the Lake Conlac, but also hope that in the near future, we can see more such wonders in the Taklamakan Desert.