The Mazartag Mountain Range, also known as "Red and White Mountains", in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is the only mountain range in the Taklamakan Desert. Stretching for over 90 kilometers, it lies like a prostrate dragon holding back a sea of sand. Helping to block the southward advance of the quicksand, these mountains play an indispensable role as a protective barrier safeguarding the oasis along the Hotan River.