Facing its infinite emptiness and unending dunes, you can only feel expansive and still. The world here is simplified into three elements-dunes, camels and vastness.

Walking in the Badain Jaran Desert is like walking through thousands years of history; it feels like a pilgrimage too, as you face the pyramid dunes of Alasha.

The steep dunes rise up high from the fiat ground, one after the other, covering the whole desert. Paths zigzag up the dunes and down to the next; and as for road signs--there are only the dried white droppings of camels to guide you, or simply gut instinct. When the camel's pads step onto the sand drifts, the sand slides down,

and the camels too, often slip back a step for every two they climb. You have to 1ie on your stomach over the camel, holding firmly onto its front hump for fear of falling off£®Unlike in the fiat gobi. the camels cannot run at will; it takes much time and all their breath to creep over every single dune.

Walking in the desert calls for patience. In fact, there is nothing to worry about. Ahead of you lies nothing but sand, nothing but loneliness, nothing but one

day following another. But walking in desert, there is much space and time for reflection, for letting the mind wander; this vast backdrop is better than lofty mountains and flowing rivers. If you suddenly spot camels in the far distance, you feel a surge of warm emotion. But in just a second, they vanish without a trace.

Throughout a lifetime, one can have countless nights plain, impulsive nostalgic, romantic, merry and lively. But the night we camped out on Wuzhumu. deep in the Badain Jaran Desert. I had the feeling I was on the west slope of Qomolangma Peak. Wuzhumu is the highest point in the Badain Jaran Desert, at an elevation of l,700 meters. The dune rises 528 meters high from the ground, and is the highest sand hill in China. It is also the world¡¯s largest area of booming sand. As it slips and slides, the sand emits thunderous booming noises. Resting my head on sand of the Badain Jaran Desert and thinking back of the past of the western area, it was hard to fall asleep.

At dawn the next day, we remounted our camels and continued our journey on to Bayan Nur.

The dunes here were even bigger. Green saksauls grew everywhere on the yellow sand beside the road, their colors enhancing each other. A yurt visible in the distance took us ages to reach, even though it didn't look that far.

The lake stretched out below our feet, deep and clear. Surrounded by sand, it was like a mother¡¯s charming smile, or a teardrop on the sky. There are over l 40 such lakes in the desert, with an area of 666 hectares all told--a unique desert sight. Some are freshwater lakes. others are extremely saline. It is a really incredible thing when a lake next to a salty one turns out to be flesh.

It was sunset when we arrived at the shore of Bayan Nur. The sheep dogs barked in excitement while the host family busied themselves preparing food and lodging for the guests. They had no time to exchange more than a word or so of greetin9.

During my ten days of jolting through the Badain Jaran, looking out for yurts and colored pennants on the dunes, I experienced a myriad of emotions, sadness and thrills. Badain Jaran is the most beautiful, the most wonderful place in the world.How lucky l was to go there.