Lenghu

China’s most Mars-like landscape: the Lenghu Mars Camp and Obo Liang yardangs, the moonscape of Black Solitary Mountain, an abandoned oil base that tells of the oil boom, and pristine starry skies beneath Saishiteng Mountain.

Lenghu lies in northwestern Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province, on the northern edge of the Qaidam Basin. Administratively it is Lenghu Town under Mangnai City, about 260 km west of Da Qaidam, and linked to Dunhuang in Gansu to the north via Dangjin Pass. It was once an oil base of the Qinghai Oilfield, home to tens of thousands of oil workers in the 1950s and ’60s; when the oilfield moved away, it left behind a vast ruined town of mud-brick buildings. Today Lenghu is popular again as “the most Mars-like place in China” and for its world-class dark skies. There are three areas to explore: north of town are the ruins of the Lenghu oil base and Black Solitary Mountain, whose grey-black gravel hills resemble the surface of the moon; about 60 km west is Obo Liang, with an enormous field of wind-eroded yardangs, Mars Highway No. 1 and the Lenghu Mars Camp, where you can sleep in space capsules and stargaze at night; and southeast of town, Saishiteng Mountain is one of China’s top optical astronomy sites, its summit crowded with telescope domes (the summit is generally closed to independent visitors, but you can enjoy the view from below). The best season is Jun–Oct, warmest in Jul–Aug, though day–night temperature swings are large and nights often approach 0°C; winters are bitterly cold and windy. Getting there: the Golmud–Korla Railway stops at Lenghu Station; it is about 4 hours by car from Dunhuang and about 3 hours from Da Qaidam, and Lenghu Town has a few hotels and a gas station. Allow 1–2 days: half a day around Lenghu Town, a full day for the Obo Liang yardangs and the Mars Camp, and stargazing at night. Lenghu is often part of the Qinghai–Gansu Grand Loop or the Qinghai–Xinjiang route; about 250 km west is Huatugou in Mangnai (for the Emerald Lake and Aiken Spring, see “Mangnai & Huatugou”). This area is vast and sparsely populated: fill up on fuel, carry plenty of water and food, note that there is no signal deep among the yardangs, don’t go off-road on your own, and enter the heart of Obo Liang only with a guide or an official tour.

Top sights

Itineraries