Whistling Dune Bay

Whistling Dune Bay, also known as Xiangshawan, is located at the eastern end of the Kubuqi Desert in Dalate Banner, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Like a bright pearl shining in the vast desert, it is a national 5A-level tourist attraction. The scenic area is divided into several distinctive zones, with the most famous being Liansha Resort Island, Fusha Resort Island and Yuesha Leisure Island. Here, the sand dunes stand 110 meters high and stretch 400 meters wide, distributed in a crescent shape with a 45-degree slope, forming a huge natural echo wall. "Resonant sand" is its unique feature. When the sand is dry, people can hear a wonderful sound from the sand—like it is "singing happily"—when sliding down from the top of the sand dune or holding a handful of sand. This magical phenomenon attracts countless tourists to visit.

Highlights of Whistling Dune Bay

The Wonder of Singing Sand

Whistling Dune Bay

Known for "the sand here can sing", Xiangsha Bay has a 110-meter-high and 400-meter-wide sand dune. Distributed in a crescent shape with a 45-degree slope, this dune forms a huge echo wall. A roaring sound like a plane flying overhead is emitted when people slide down the sand dune top—this happens because sand grains collide and rub, creating the superposition of sound waves with similar frequencies. Another sound can be heard too: if you clap your hands hard to scoop up sand in the middle, it will sound like frogs croaking. As a major feature of Xiangsha Bay, this unique singing sand phenomenon draws many tourists to come and experience it.

Liansha Resort Island

Lotus Hotel at night

Liansha Resort Island is all about leisure and vacation, and its big highlight is the Lotus Hotel. If you look at the hotel from the sky, its whole building is just like a blooming white lotus. Workers don't use bricks, tiles, sand, stones, cement or steel bars to build it—they only use green, energy-saving and eco-friendly materials. The hotel has all the necessary facilities, such as Shalian Restaurant, an indoor swimming pool, a gym and a bonfire area. What's more, you can do indoor activities like making pottery and dynamic sand painting, and try outdoor things such as live-action CS and desert cycling. Tourists can have a comfortable and nice vacation here, and at the same time, feel the hotel's unique architectural charm and enjoy the rich entertainment activities.

Fusha Resort Island

With Mongolian culture as its theme, Fusha Resort Island lets tourists live like Mongolians in their way. On the island, you can find facilities such as a grassland swimming pool and Mongolian yurt clusters, plus a series of Mongolian-style activities—Aobao worship, shaman rituals, dairy making, song and dance shows, and bonfire parties all included. Tourists can put on Mongolian robes to join the Aobao worship ceremony; this lets them feel the Mongolians' beliefs and traditional culture. They can also taste nice dairy products, enjoy great Mongolian songs and dances, sing and dance with everyone by the bonfire, and feel the nomadic people's happiness in a relaxed way.

Xiansha Leisure Island

Xiansha Leisure Island is a vibrant and exciting place with a variety of desert experience activities. Tourists can go on desert expeditions, riding desert adventure vehicles through the sand dunes; they can also try the zip line, crossing the sand valley like a "desert kite" and overlooking the magnificent scenery where the sand sea and Yin Mountain interweave. Besides, they can have a go at orbital bikes, desert swings and other projects to feel the fun of sports in the desert. In addition, the island has thrilling performances such as high-wire walking and globe of death, which feast tourists' eyes.

Educational Value

At Whistling Dune Bay, you can observe sand dune shapes in person, feel the day-night temperature difference in the desert, and learn the scientific principle behind the "singing sand" phenomenon (special sand grain structure and sound produced by friction and vibration). This makes abstract geographical knowledge—such as "formation of wind-shaped landforms" and "climate characteristics of arid regions"—more concrete. In addition, the scenic area preserves drought-tolerant plants unique to the Kubuqi Desert and animals adapted to the desert environment. You can directly observe these organisms' "survival strategies for extreme environments" (e.g., succulent stems of plants for water storage, nocturnal habits of animals) and understand the ecological logic of "interdependence between organisms and the environment."

Activities to do at Whistling Dune Bay

Camel Riding: You can experience camel riding on both Xiansha Island and Yuesha Island. Tourists can ride camels across sand dunes, enjoy the desert scenery, and feel this unique mode of transportation in the desert.

Sand Therapy for Health: You can have a sand therapy experience at the sand therapy center on Yuesha Island. It uses hot sand at 40℃ for physical therapy, which has certain health benefits, but an advance reservation is required.