DUNHUANG, CHINA: YARDANG NATIONAL GEOPARK

About 110 miles northwest of Dunhuang is a lonely section of desert known as Yardang National Geopark. It covers 154 square miles and is dotted with strange rock formations that developed over a 700,000 year period. The dictionary defines "yardang" as "a sharp, irregular ridge of compact sand lying in the direction of the prevailing wind in exposed desert regions, formed by the wind erosion of adjacent material that is less resistant."

Who knew?

A sign near one of the parking lots notes, "The major landscapes of this geo area include mound shaped, wall shaped, tower shaped and columnar Yardang landforms, which are very lifelike and has [sic] become the real ghost city in western China, and associated with the vast gobi and desert."

You get the idea, right?

The map below shows the numerous major formations in the park:

"Global Geoparks" became a category under UNESCO in 2015 and that designation was given to Yardang. By the way, China has 52 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, second only to Italy, which has 53. My guess is that as China continues to develop its tourist industry, it will soon take over the #1 spot.

The descriptions of various landforms on signs in the geopark make me smile. This one is the "Tower-shaped Yardang (Gold Lion Greeting Guests)," which "seems to be watching and welcoming tourists from afar":

Here he is:

And here he is in context:

Stupid tourists, blocking the view of the Golden Lion:

There are all kinds of funky yardangs, reminding me a lot of Goblin Valley or other desert formations in national parks in the American Southwest:

The formations are surrounded by a sea of grainy black sand, giving the area an other-worldly appearance:

This one is the Sphinx. Can you see it?

I'm not sure what the dangers are in this geopark. Snakes? Scorpions? Stupidity?

The most famous formation in the geopark is the Peacock:

Sculpted by Mother Nature, this vain bird is looking around at the tourists, making sure everyone is looking at his regal form:

An impressive array of spiky bodyguards prevents tourists from getting to close:

Here is a good view of his cascading tail feathers:

Impressive. However, if his plumage had been standing upright in a fan, I would have been even MORE impressed.

I don't remember the name of this formation, but it looks like a large fleet of warships, waiting in parallel rows in a dark sea for a command to attack. It is very dramatic, and Bob gave it the name "D-Day":

Sometimes we just had to turn around to see . . . nothing. Nothing for miles:

There is nothing like nothing to inspire a selfie:

The Chinese love taking pictures as much as we do, and that universal pose where a person appears to be holding up some structure is just as popular here as anywhere:

It is hard to beat children when it comes to photography subjects. Isn't this coat adorable?

Children everywhere are drawn to dirt and rocks:

Before moving on to the next venue, we stopped to find a restroom. I like these movable warning signs:

Some rocks in the geopark seemed almost human. Almost.