Tenggeli Desert

(chinaculture.org)

Updated: 2014-01-08

Tenggeli means "extending into distance like the sky" in Mongolian.

The Tenggeli Desert - Tonghu Basin Scenic Area is located 18 kilometers northwest of the county site of Zhongwei County, Alxa League of Inner Mongolia.

The Tenggeli Desert - Tonghu Basin Scenic Area is located 18 kilometers northwest of the county site of Zhongwei County, Alxa League of Inner Mongolia.

Tenggeli means "extending into distance like the sky" in Mongolian. Running from the southwest of Alxa Left Banner, the Alxa League to Gansu Province, the Tenggeli Desert is linked to the Helan Mountains in the east, runs over the Great Wall in the south and meets the Yabulai Mountain in the west. The desert covers an area of 367,000 sq km and is 200-1,400 meters above the sea level. It is characterized by the interweaving of sand dunes, lakes, hilly land flat ground, 70 percent of which is made up of sand dunes. The desert contains more than 400 lakes. Some species of plants grow well near the lakes.

Tonghu has unique natural scenery of sand-lake basins, surrounded by sand dunes with grass, fresh air and numerous migratory birds. White Mongolian tents dot the area.