Yulong Sand Lake Tourist Area

Yulong Sand Lake Tourist Area is located in the northeast of Wudan Town, Wengniute Banner, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on the western edge of the Horqin Sandy Land, which is known as the "800-li vast desert". It is within 500 kilometers of Beijing, Shenyang, Dalian and other cities, and is praised as the closest and most beautiful desert tourist area to the capital. Covering an area of 100 square kilometers, the tourist area integrates deserts, lakes, wetlands, meadows and exotic pines, and is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

Highlights of Yulong Sand Lake Tourist Area

Glacial Relics

This place has Quaternary Glacial Relics. 2.6 million years ago, it was a big ocean. The Yin-Yang Stone Valley, Glacial Pothole Observation Deck and Stone Great Wall on the front mountain are natural landscapes—they're also popular Internet check-in spots. Natural forces made the Yin Stone and Yang Stone in ancient times, and they look very different: the Yang Stone is tall and straight, 6.4 meters high with an average diameter of 1.8 meters, and it looks grand; the Yin Stone seems gentle and shy, showing soft feminine charm. When you stand on the Glacial Pothole Observation Deck, you can see great scenery with sand dunes, lakes, wetlands, grasslands and strange rocks mixed together. It makes people can't help but wonder at how amazing nature is.

Sand Spring Bath

As one of the must-visit Internet-famous check-in spots in Yulong Sand Lake, this open-air hot spring hides in the magical desert. It connects with the golden sand, beautiful lake, 100-million-year-old huge stones and century-old ancient pines, allowing a 360° panoramic view. The hot spring water is a natural sulfur spring, which is effective in treating rheumatism and skin diseases and also has a good beauty effect. The spring pool uses natural medical stone as the pool body. According to legend, the tears shed by the "Hongshan Feather God" when sympathizing with the hardships of the people here seeped into the ground and turned into natural hot spring water. Leaning against the hot spring pool, you can wash away the dust of daily life. While enjoying the sunrise and sunset, and the clouds rolling and spreading, you can savor the freedom and peace of soaking in the wild hot spring.

Mongolian Style Garden

This place was once the fiefdom of the last prince of the Qing Dynasty, with a strong Mongolian style. The tall stone pile is an important Mongolian sacrificial site called "Aobao" (Mongolian sacred cairn). Visitors can participate in the Aobao worship activity here, praying to the gods of heaven and earth for favorable weather, national peace and people's prosperity. In addition, you can experience archery to feel the combination of strength and skill, or ride a horse to jog by the lake while enjoying the beautiful scenery where distant sand dunes blend with the nearby lake water. You can also take a pedal boat on the rippling lake surface, appreciate the mountain views reflected in the lake, and enjoy the slow time.

Jing Shrine

Enshrined in Jingsi Shrine is a stone-carved portrait of the "Hongshan Feather God" from the Neolithic Age, about 7,200 years ago. The portrait shows a goddess kneeling on one knee with her left hand, with a solemn expression and calm demeanor, praying for peace of all living beings. Inside the shrine, there stands a 300-year-old elm tree. Its exposed roots, stretching as long as 30 meters, twist and wrap around the red sand boulders, absorbing the vitality of heaven and earth and gathering the power of nature.

Desert Sandboarding & Off-Road Racing

The sand dunes at Yulong Sand Lake are tall, steep and dangerous, with an average vertical height of over 75 meters and a natural sand slope height of about 70-100 meters, shaped like crescent moons. The scenic area has designed three levels of off-road tracks: beginner, intermediate and advanced. Visitors can take professional desert off-road vehicles, shuttle between the sand dunes, and experience the "roller coaster-style" excitement. When the off-road vehicle speeds between the 75-meter-high sand dunes, the sense of weightlessness and being overweight brought by diving and climbing makes people scream loudly to release pressure. It feels like the whole body and mind are integrated with the desert, allowing you to enjoy the speed and passion of desert off-roading to the fullest.

Educational Value

The Aobao at Yulong Sand Lake is not just a simple pile of stones, but a place where herdsmen worship heaven, earth, mountain gods and ancestors. Every stone carries the wish of "praying for favorable weather and the safety of people and livestock". When participating in the Aobao worship, visitors will follow herdsmen to learn the process: "walk around the Aobao three times clockwise, add a stone and make a wish". During this process, the guide will explain the connection between Aobao culture and grassland ecology—ancient herdsmen used Aobao as road signs and expressed their reverence for nature through worship. This concept of "revering nature and coexisting with nature" is the ancient origin of modern ecological protection thought.

Activities to do at Yulong Sand Lake Tourist Area

Geological Wonder Hiking： Visitors can hike along the 5-kilometer-long east-line loop of the scenic area from "Shennü Peak" to "Buridun Lake". Along the way, they can admire geological wonders such as the "Tortoise Stone"—a granite landform eroded by wind about 150 million years ago—and prehistoric rock carvings.