page_title: Xiangshawan
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Xiangshawan / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Dunes de sable et de steppe et stupa au loin, dans le désert de Kubuqi English: Dunes of sand and steppe in Kubuqi desert
context_page_description: Xiangshawan, also known as Whistling Dune Bay and by other names, is a AAAAA-rated tourist area in the Dalad Banner of Ordos Prefecture in Inner Mongolia, China. Amid China's general campaign to combat desertification, the mostly unreclaimable site in the Gobi's Kubuqi Desert was developed as the country's first desert-themed tourism resort. It now consists of four "islands" of activities located around the Sand Dune Resort. Mongolian folk culture is displayed, and annual cultural events include an International Photography Week and a sand sculpture festival. Most popular during the summer, Xiangshawan is currently developing a ski resort to attract tourists during the winter months as well.
context_section_description: Xiangshawan is in Ordos Prefecture's Dalad Banner, about halfway between Baotou and Ordos City, within the great northern bend of the central stretch of the Yellow River. The Grain of Sand Resort, reception area, and parking lots lie to the east at the edge of Inner Mongolia's reclaimed desert. The rest of Xiangshawan lies at the far eastern corner of the Kubuqi Desert (t 庫布其沙漠, s 库布其沙漠, Kùbùqí Shāmò), which forms the northern half of the Ordos Desert, which itself forms the southwestern portion of the Gobi Desert. The sand is mostly very fine and soft, and the wind-sculpted sand dunes in the resort can reach over 90 meters (300 ft) high.
  The resort is separated from the park's reception area and main roads by the valley of the Sasol River (索沙河, Suǒshā Hé), formerly known as the Laotai (牢太河, Láotài Hé). It is also sometimes known as the Hantai (罕台河, Hǎntāi Hé).
  Xiangshawan is about 5 kilometers (3 mi) away from Dalad Banner's Wayao Village and about 50 kilometers (31 mi) south of Baotou.
caption: Dunes and scrubland in the Kubuqi Desert, overlooked by a Buddhist stupa.
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