Badain Jaran Desert - Towers of Sand and Lakes (1638)
The Badain Jaran Desert, situated in China's Alashan Plateau, is a hyper-arid, temperate desert notable as the country's third largest and second largest drifting desert. It features an unparalleled landscape of mega-dunes interspersed with numerous inter-dunal lakes. Key geological and geomorphic highlights include the world's tallest stabilized sand mega-dune (460 m relative relief), the highest density of inter-dunal lakes, and extensive areas of singing sands and distinct wind-eroded formations.
Badain Jaran Desert spans 726,291.41 hectares with a 891,114.36-hectare buffer zone on China's Alashan Plateau in the hyper-arid temperate desert region of northwestern China. As China's third-largest desert, it contains irreplaceable natural heritage featuring high-density mega-dunes including the world's tallest stabilized sand dunes with a maximum relative height of 460 meters, creating undulating landscapes. The desert hosts numerous interdunal lakes that are predominantly saline and diversely colored, providing favorable habitat for thriving worms, molluscs, crustacea and some fish, while supporting abundant plant life and mostly nocturnal animal communities throughout the sandy desert and sand sea environment.
The property's geographical location and geological background create strong influences from climate change and continuing tectonic uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Its ongoing desert-forming processes offer insights into long-term climatic changes and desert formation mechanisms, with the site's size and integrity being crucial for understanding its continuing evolution.
Criterion (vii)
Badain Jaran Desert - Towers of Sand and Lakes display spectacular ongoing geological and geomorphic features of desert landscapes and landforms subject to a temperate, hyper-arid climate. These features create exceptional aesthetic values emerging from the dense range of stabilized, linear, and parallel mega-dunes with numerous inter-dunal lakes as well as various types of smaller dunes in-between the mega-dunes. 144 inter-dunal lakes exhibit a myriad of colours, caused by different levels of salinity and microbial communities. With an exceptional expanse of so-called singing sands (describing the resonance caused e.g. by wind moving dry and loose sand), the property also presents a remarkable soundscape. Wind-eroded landforms, oases, ripple effects and the grandeur of the world’s tallest sand mega-dunes (relative relief of 460 m) compose a landscape of remarkable natural beauty. The dynamic of shifting sand dunes creates an ever-changing visual environment.
Criterion (viii)
The property is located at the junction of three sandy regions of China and provides an outstanding example of the ongoing evolution of desert landscapes and landforms under a temperate and hyper-arid climate. It records and displays an exceptional variety of aeolian features and desert geomorphology, such as linear and parallel, stabilized mega-dunes and associated inter-dunal lakes. The property appears to be a very rare example at global scale that reflects the evolutionary landforms as a combined result of regional tectonism and hydrogeological changes associated with climatic evolution. The property also stands out due to the remarkable stability of its linear mega-dunes and the abundance of inter-dunal lakes. It boasts the densest collection of stabilized mega-dunes globally, encompassing among the tallest sand dunes and the highest concentration of inter-dunal lakes found anywhere on Earth. With 144 inter-dunal lakes and the considerable variety of dune formations, the property hosts a remarkable geodiversity. Both IUCN’s 2011 thematic study on desert landscapes and IUCN’s 2021 study on the application of criterion (viii) highlighted the property as one of the most significant desert landscapes and geomorphological sites, not currently represented on the World Heritage List.
Status
The property encompasses the complete distribution of mega-dunes and inter-dunal lakes with sufficient area to protect all elements conveying Outstanding Universal Value. Most areas remain uninhabited natural desert, with only a few herder families sustainably using the land with traditional livestock. The property maintains wilderness character with no paved roads, excluding all towns, factories, and potential threats from both property and buffer zones.
Protection operates through multiple designations: autonomous region-level scenic site, two nature reserves, UNESCO Global Geopark, National Geopark status, and national nature reserve coverage for the entire property, with future national park designation providing highest legal protection. The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People's Government established a World Heritage Management Committee for coordinated leadership, with the Badain Jaran Desert World Heritage Management Office handling daily operations. Technical support comes from local departments, monitoring agencies, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and research institutes.
Management focuses on five key measures: strengthening monitoring and research of sand dunes, lakes, and vegetation through adaptive management; establishing comprehensive monitoring systems and databases with targeted protection controls; involving local people in protection teams and co-management; strengthening community participation; and balancing heritage protection with sustainable local development through controlled eco-tourism that minimizes impact on natural values. Critical priorities include careful groundwater management to protect inter-dunal lakes and controlling tourism within carrying capacity limits.
