The boat trip
Through the reed beds.
Liuxingy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Liuxingy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Liuxingy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Liuxingy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Liuxingy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Liuxingy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Li Meng — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Liuxingy — CC BY-SA 4.0
A broad lake, whose Chinese name means «sand lake», lined with golden dunes some 56 km north of Yinchuan, where two sights rarely seen together meet: open water broken by reed beds, and a desert stretching along the far shore. The scenic area covers about 4,247 hectares, including a main lake of some 895 hectares with an average depth of 2.2 metres, about 1,515 hectares of desert, and marshes and wetland, and it was rated 5A, China's top grade for tourist attractions, in 2007. Visitors cross the lake by boat through the reeds to the sandy shore, where camel caravans and other desert activities wait for an extra fee; the lake also has a Bird Island and wetlands on its eastern side for birdwatching, and the reeds turn green in summer. Tickets cost CNY 50 with boats extra, about CNY 115 including the big-boat trip, and the area is open from 8 am to 6 pm in summer and 8.30 am to 5.30 pm in autumn and winter, per visitor guides.
Through the reed beds.
On the far shore.
On the sand.
Pingluo County, Shizuishan, about 56 km north of Yinchuan
A day tour or a car with a driver is easiest, as the lake lies about 56 km north of the city, roughly an hour's drive, per visitor guides.