Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark 敦煌雅丹国家地质公园

About Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark

Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark (敦煌雅丹国家地质公园), also called Devil City (魔鬼城), is a field of wind-carved yardang landforms in the desert northwest of Yumen Pass (玉门关), about 180 km northwest of central Dunhuang (敦煌) in Gansu.

Yardangs are ridges and knobs of rock that stand out after wind and rain wear away the softer ground around them. Here they are carved from loosely consolidated Quaternary river and lake sediments, worked on by tectonic uplift, wind, running water and gravity; the formations took shape over some 700,000 years. The yardang landscape covers roughly 400 square kilometres and shows the whole range of forms, from mounds and walls to towers, columns and monadnock-like forms, each marking a different stage of development.

On 21 September 2015 UNESCO announced Dunhuang as one of nine new members of the Global Geoparks Network. The yardang field is treated as the main area of the Dunhuang UNESCO Global Geopark, which covers 2,180.75 square kilometres and also takes in the Mogao Caves, a World Heritage site. A study in the journal Geoheritage, co-written by staff of the geopark administration, states that the yardangs here are more densely distributed than anywhere else in the world.

Single rocks have been given names: the Peacock, the Camel, the Stone Bird, the Mongolian Bao and the Golden Lion Welcoming Guests (金狮迎客). Inside the Yardang Ghost Town is Aisikexiaer Castle, its name taken from a Uyghur word for 'old city'. Because of the terrain, the complex geology and the extreme climate, visits have to be guided: sightseeing buses with guides tour the area, and off-road vehicles keep to prearranged routes. Among the reasons visitors give for making the trip is watching the sunset over the desert.

What to look for

• Wall-, tower- and column-shaped yardangs carved from Quaternary river and lake sediments
• Named rock forms such as the Golden Lion Welcoming Guests (金狮迎客), Camel and Peacock
• Aisikexiaer Castle in the Yardang Ghost Town
• Sunset over the yardang field

Location & getting there

Getting to Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark

• Search for 敦煌雅丹国家地质公园 with 酒泉市 and 敦煌市.