Juyan Lake 居延海

About Juyan Lake

Its water and reed margins form an oasis in the arid country north of Dalai Hob. Restoration of downstream water flows revived the lake after it had dried out in the twentieth century. A visit works best from the managed eastern-lake shore, watching the open water and reed habitat rather than searching for the largely dry western basin.

Historically known as Juyanze (居延泽) in the Han dynasty and Xihai (西海) after that, the lake has been called Juyan Hai since the Tang. It lay along the Hexi Corridor from the Western Han to the Tang dynasty, part of Zhangye commandery, and Han bamboo slips (居延汉简) dating from the mid-Western Han to the late Eastern Han have been excavated in the area. The Western Xia dynasty built the walled town of Khara-Khoto (黑水城) beside the lake; in 1372 a Ming army dammed the river to force the town's surrender, after which the lake's river changed course and its oasis vegetation declined.

The lake comprises two basins: the western Gashun Nuur (嘎顺淖尔), now mostly dried up, and the eastern Sogo Nuur (苏古诺尔), today a national-level water conservancy scenic area. It lies at the end of the Heihe river system, called the Ejin River in its lower reaches, which rises in the Qilian Mountains and flows more than 800 kilometres before dividing into its eastern and western branches at the Bayan Baogede sluice. Its surrounding wetland, the inland delta of the Ejin River, covers an area of about 10,000 square kilometres.

What to look for

• The open water of East Juyan Lake at the end of the Heihe river system.
• The reed-fringed wetland margin and its seasonally changing birdlife.

Location & getting there

Getting to Juyan Lake

Use the East Juyan Lake scenic area in Ceke Gacha, Sogo Nuur Sumu, about 55 kilometres north of Dalai Hob.

• Specify East Juyan Lake when arranging your road transfer; West Juyan Lake is a separate basin with a different location and condition.