!!!Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark
Photos by Sergey Shandin and Stanislav Sedov,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

23 July 2018

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

China is full of interesting and unique natural landmarks, and Dunhuang
Yardang National Geopark is among them. The closest settlement, the town
of Dunhuang in Gansu Province, is located as far as 180 km southeast of
the park.

[{Image src='01_Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark.jpg' caption='Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark, China\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='403'}]

The name of the park appeared due to the landscape: a yardang is a
unique rock formation created by the action of wind. The word itself is
of Turkic origin, meaning ‘steep bank'. This term was introduced to the
scientific world by the Swedish scientist Sven Anders Hedin in 1903.

[{Image src='02_Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark.jpg' caption='Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark, China\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='516'}]

This famous geographer and journalist filled many gaps in the map of the
world. During his first visit to the Lop Desert, he noticed narrow and
high parallel furrows that covered the surface. So he gave such a
poetical name to the formation that had been previously unknown.

[{Image src='03_Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark.jpg' caption='Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark, China\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='516'}]

His colleagues have eventually discovered a lot of yardangs in Central
Asia, Arizona and in the Sahara (some people consider the Great Sphinx
of Egypt on the western bank of the Nile to be an augmented yardang).
Yardangs exist even on Mars! But the major part of them is located in
China. The quantity of these formations in Yardang National Geopark is
the largest in China and now is shown in the new AirPano virtual tour.

[{Image src='04_Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark.jpg' caption='Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark, China\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='582'}]

The area of 398 sq km is covered by rectilinear furrows in the direction
of the dominant wind with asymmetrical steep slopes. They are divided by
sharp ridges consisting of clay and loam: they are formed by the wind
that for around 700,000 years has been blowing away loose grounds and
leaving here only hard formations. The height of yardangs is around
several meters with their width at least three times bigger than its
height. When seen from above, a yardang resembles a ship.

[{Image src='05_Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark.jpg' caption='Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark, China\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='516'}]

Some of the uniquely shaped rocks in the geopark have their own names:
"Peacock", "Mongolian Bao", "Camel", "Stone Bird", "Stone Buddha" and
even "The Golden Lion Welcoming His Guests". In the ancient times, this
area was crossed by the Silk Road coming from the Lop Desert that is 300
km to the southeast from here. Aisikexiaer was a town on the way of the
Silk Road (the word 'Aisikexiaer' means 'old city' in the Uyghur
language). Now it is abandoned, and sometimes a terrifying wind howling
can be heard. That's why this part of Yardang Geopark is sometimes
called "Yadan Ghost Town" or "Demon's town".

[{Image src='06_Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark.jpg' caption='Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark, China\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='516'}]

But we have nothing to be scared of! AirPano panoramas captured in
Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark will make it possible to enjoy these
unique rock formations without leaving your home.

\\ \\
[11 panoramas of Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark|Geography/Asia/China/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Dunhuang_Yardang_National_Geopark]

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