Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
In the blazing heat of June, tourists dash down sun-scorched dunes, ride camels on golden sands, and cool off in shimmering desert pools. Laughter, excitement and the hum of singing bowls fill the air.
Tucked along the edge of the Tengger Desert in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is Shapotou, a national resort area where river, sand and stars converge.
Once infamous due to encroaching desert dunes and deadly sandstorms, this remote region is now a vibrant symbol of ecological restoration and thriving desert tourism.
In the past, desertification still threatened Shapotou’s very survival, as dunes advanced several meters annually — swallowing fields and homes.
Shapotou first attracted serious attention with the construction of the Baotou-Lanzhou railway in 1958, which was China’s first desert railway. To protect it, national focus and efforts converged at Shapotou.
Researchers and local residents worked together to develop and use a straw checkerboard technique to fight desertification. Along with tree planting and other endeavors, millions united to gradually stop the sand dunes from advancing. Over the course of several decades, the desert eventually retreated by 25 kilometers — a landmark victory in ecological restoration.
With the settling of the desert sands, new opportunities emerged in this region. Former tourism official Tao Neng recalled that officials from Europe and the United States once came to study desertification control at Shapotou, while backpackers from the West were drawn to this area by the mystery of the Silk Road.
Intrigued by their fascination, Tao studied English in Beijing to better understand the appeal. It was then that he realized why people loved the desert — its sunrises, sunsets, rainstorms and rainbows offer rare beauty, far removed from the concrete and pressures of city life.
Though born in the city of Zhongwei in Ningxia, Tao first saw the desert turn pink after rain through this job, while also discovering its hidden oases and villages, and learning to embrace sandstorms as a unique life experience.
To capture these impressions, he kept a notebook in which visitors from around the world could write about their desert journeys. Their reflections sparked ideas that helped lay the foundation for today’s nationally renowned Shapotou tourist area.
Inspired by international desert tourism models, Shapotou introduced sandboarding, desert surfing and even zip-lining across the Yellow River. In 2007, it became a national 5A-level scenic area — drawing nearly 600,000 visitors that year.
Recent years have seen a shift toward premium, immersive desert experiences. In 2020, the first phase of the Desert Star Hotel opened, offering luxury stargazing stays with rooms priced at up to 2,000 yuan (about 279 U.S. dollars) per night. Despite the cost, these rooms are often fully booked.
To cater to younger travelers, the local government built a desert campsite featuring ensuite tents, music festivals and stargazing installations. According to the hotel’s general manager, these tent accommodations enjoyed an occupancy rate of nearly 90 percent last year, while the government’s investment has already been fully recovered.
The booming tourism industry has brought real change to this area. Local data revealed that Zhongwei’s tourism employment level had risen from 40,000 in 2014 to 70,000 in 2024. Major brands now stage product launches in the dunes, while hit reality shows have chosen Shapotou as a backdrop.
The transformation of Shapotou also reflects China’s national strategy of building an ecological civilization — which places green development at the heart of its modernization goals.
Notably, as one of the countries most severely affected by desertification, China has launched large-scale ecological projects to combat land degradation, particularly in its northern and northwestern regions.
Shapotou’s success is part of broader national efforts like the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, a decades-long afforestation initiative launched in 1978. This massive project has mobilized millions of people to carry out reforestation, sand control and grassland restoration across vast stretches of northwest, north, and northeast China.
By 2023, the program, the world’s largest of its kind, had completed 480 million mu (about 32 million hectares) of afforestation, rehabilitated 1.28 billion mu of degraded grassland, and treated 500 million mu of desertified land. As a result, forest coverage in the project area had increased from 5.05 percent in 1978 to 13.84 percent in 2023.
As a pioneer of desert tourism in China, Shapotou is now developing more upscale desert vacation experiences. In 2024, the Tengol Desert Resort opened its doors, offering minimalist sand-toned villas modeled after ancient Silk Road camel towns. Backed by 200 million yuan in infrastructure investment, the resort runs on sustainable systems — no plastic bottles and no underground water extraction.
Offering 105 rooms, it boasts a spa, bar, desert adventure experiences and gourmet meals, featuring Helan Mountain wine and local Tan sheep. All rooms were fully booked by February for this year’s May Day holiday — 75 percent by women seeking tranquility and quality travel.
“We used to think of the desert as something to conquer,” said Zhang Ying, general manager of the hotel. “Now we’ve learned to live in harmony with it. Even as sandstorms rage outside, our guests can sip coffee and take in the view in complete comfort.”
MIL OSI China News –