Crescent Moon Pool

9. Dune Surfing

The dune, a sand crusted hill of dozens of meters high, is located five kilometers south of Dunhuang city. It is 800 square kilometers in size, stretching 40 km from east to west and 20 km from south to the north. The main peak is 1,715 meters above sea level. Its ridges and peaks are known to be as sharp as a knife. In fine days, sand roars like thunder which can be heard in the city, hence the name. When visitors climb up to the dunes and slide downward from the summit, the sand can collapse with them and give out a pearl of loud sound. This indicates the Chinese word "Mingsha". Specially, when it is fine and the wind rests, the sand may play special music sounding like the orchestral music. The sand also has five colors: red, yellow, green, white and black. It's very beautiful and interesting.