Badain Jaran: Protecting Desert Lakes and Building a Future of Harmony Between Humans and Nature

On 26 July 2024, the Badain Jaran Desert – Sand Mountain and Lake Cluster was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, filling the gap that China previously had no desert-type sites listed as World Natural Heritage. Over the past two years, this desert featuring Bilutu Peak, vast singing sand dunes and 144 permanent colourful lakes has forged a coordinated development model covering ecology, culture and people’s livelihoods through four core principles: conservation, inheritance, rational utilization and sustainable development. Its arid climate has fostered an unparalleled landscape where sand and water coexist. Scattered colourful lakes dot the boundless desert, while geological changes spanning hundreds of millions of years have preserved complete records of geomorphological evolution, making this site an invaluable natural heritage gifted by nature to China and the whole world.

Badain Jaran Desert – Sand Mountain and Lake Cluster

Inscription as a World Heritage Site never serves as a permit for unrestrained development; instead, it marks a brand-new starting line for ecological conservation. In the past two years, Alxa has implemented a series of rigorous conservation measures. The 1,856-kilometre forest and grass shelterbelt encircling three major deserts has been fully connected, building a solid green barrier across northern China. Supported by a three-level management system, paired with drone patrols and ecological monitoring stations jointly built with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, nearly 50,000 square kilometres of the heritage zone are managed through a three-dimensional, technology-enabled governance framework. Human activities are strictly regulated to protect the fragile original desert ecosystem.

Badain Jaran Desert – Sand Mountain and Lake Cluster

Artistic performers participate in overseas art exhibitions

Badain Jaran Desert – Sand Mountain and Lake Cluster

Based on stringent ecological protection, the local government has steadily promoted the promotion and international outreach of the World Heritage value. Tourism and cultural promotion events themed on Badain Jaran have been held in France and Belgium, winning wide acclaim from global audiences. Relying on its pristine natural landscapes, the region has developed study tours, desert outdoor experiences and other cultural tourism products. In the two years since inscription, the scenic area has received 6.8148 million visitors, with total cultural and tourism revenue reaching 4.824 billion yuan. The industry has helped local herders increase their income through occupational transformation, successfully translating ecological advantages into green industries that deliver tangible benefits to residents.

From sand fixation and afforestation under the Three-North Shelter Forest Program to intelligent monitoring with scientific equipment; from local herders dedicating themselves to desert protection to the desert scenery gaining global popularity through overseas promotion; from cultural tourism development increasing local incomes to people sharing the beauty of this World Heritage site... Over these two years, Badain Jaran has presented a successful model that balances ecological protection, cultural preservation and public wellbeing.

Alxa League will continue to uphold the principle of protection priority and sustainable utilization, strengthening holistic and systematic conservation of both cultural and natural heritage. It will protect these precious cultural and natural treasures, allowing this desert wonderland sculpted by wind and sand over hundreds of millions of years to maintain its enduring beauty and vitality for generations to come.