Badain Jarain Desert

The western approaches to the Badain Jaran Desert meet the lower Ejin River, known also as the Ruo Shui. Beyond the river's alluvial plain lie the dunes and arid expanses of the Alashan Plateau. Khara-Khoto, the old Tangut city near the river, guarded routes between settled oases and the deserts stretching north. The desert's great dunes and scattered lakes form a landscape unlike the stony Gobi beyond.