With the Tengger Desert, Ulanbuh Desert, and Mu Us Desert all within its borders, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is undoubtedly rich in rolling sand dunes, so it's no surprise that Shapotou, located at the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert in Zhongwei City, is one of the region's best-known tourist destinations.

With many different ways to explore the vast stretches of sand, Shapotou is the perfect place for those seeking a desert adventure. On board a modified 4x4 or amphibious vehicle, you can "surf" across the desert. But hold on tight, or you might hit your head on the roof! As the vehicle speeds across the sand dunes, you'll feel like you're on a roller coaster. Sometimes, the dunes are so steep that when you look through the windshield, all you will see is the clear blue sky.

As you coast along the dunes, you might not realize that powerful winds from the northwest are responsible for creating these sandy peaks. Driven by the ruthless wind, the Tengger Desert is growing, unstoppable until it reaches Shapotou, where the Yellow River establishes a defensive wall that blocks its path.

This creates quite an unusual scene - a river that lies side by side with a desert. It may be hard to imagine that the Yellow River and Tengger Desert can coexist in the same location, with flowing water on one side and endless desert on the other, but the miraculous phenomenon truly makes us admire the irony and unpredictability of nature.

Explore Ningxia with Tianran He, host of Travelogue on CGTN. The show airs on this Sunday (Sept. 23) at 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., next Monday at 2:00 a.m. and next Thursday at 1:30 p.m. BJT.