Nature
2020.05.03 11:12 GMT+8

Pink lake hidden in desert in northern China shines like sapphire

Updated 2020.05.03 11:12 GMT+8
CGTN

Pink lake in Badain Jaran Desert, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China, May 1, 2020. /VCG

The world-famous Pink Lake in western Australia has become a popular Instagram spot. Do you know there is a pink lake in China as well? What's special about it is not only the rosy color, but the fact that it is hidden in a vast desert in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in northern China. Slide the images below to take a look at the breathtaking beauty.

Pink lake in Badain Jaran Desert, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China, May 1, 2020. /VCG

Pink lake in Badain Jaran Desert, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China, May 1, 2020. /VCG

Pink lake in Badain Jaran Desert, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China, May 1, 2020. /VCG

Pink lake in Badain Jaran Desert, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China, May 1, 2020. /VCG

Pink lake in Badain Jaran Desert, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China, May 1, 2020. /VCG

Pink lake in Badain Jaran Desert, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China, May 1, 2020. /VCG

Pink lake in Badain Jaran Desert, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China, May 1, 2020. /VCG

Pink lake in Badain Jaran Desert, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China, May 1, 2020. /VCG

Pink lake in Badain Jaran Desert, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China, May 1, 2020. /VCG

Pink lake in Badain Jaran Desert, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China, May 1, 2020. /VCG

There has been two different theories to explain the particular color of the lake: the special minerals in the water, or brine shrimp, a micro creature living in salt lakes. Both elements can endow the lake with pink color. The pink lake is hidden deep in one of China's largest deserts: Badain Jaran Desert, with an area of 49,000 square kilometers.  It is a miracle that as many as 144 lakes lie in this vast desert, whose annual precipitation is less than 40 millimeters. 

(Cover image via VCG)

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