Cresent Lake in Dunhuang, Gansu Province Photo: IC

Surrounded by a desolate desert, water is extremely precious in the narrow Hexi Corridor, an important historical route and part of ancient Silk Road in Northwest China's Gansu Province. Nearly 300 years ago, Halaqi Lake disappeared from the face of the Earth after drying up completely. However, through the efforts of environmental conservationists and the establishment of a nature reserve, the lake has reappeared. Although the lake is currently only five square kilometers in size, a far cry from its original surface area of 200 square kilometers, it is quickly becoming a paradise for vegetation and local wildlife.

The recovery of Halaqi Lake is definitely good news for many foreign visitors now that China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) has established Xi'an, capital of the nearby Shaanxi Province, as one of 27 ports that will provide 144-hour visa-free travel in China starting from December 1. 

"The opening up of the Xi'an port will not only boost tourism development in Shaanxi Province, but will also increase visitor volume to Gansu Province's scenic spots because foreign visitors have six free days to visit China," Zhang Shangzheng, former director of the Department of Tourism Management at Anhui University's School of Business, told the Global Times on Monday.

It takes two and a half hours to travel from Xi'an to Dunhuang in Gansu Province by plane, and another 40 minutes of travel by car or bus to Halaqi Lake, which is about 30 kilometers northwest of Dunhuang, Tammy, an employee at China's leading online travel agency Ctrip, told the Global Times. 

Encroaching desert

On the sparkling lake, egrets and wild ducks can be seen swimming through lush reeds. It is rather hard to image that this beautiful place was once a desert. 

Halaqi Lake, the terminal lake of the important inland Shule River, is eight kilometers from north to south, nearly as big as the famous West Lake in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province.

According to historical records, Halaqi Lake used to consist of a wetland area that was more than 1,000 square kilometers in size, while the lake itself covered some 200 square kilometers. 

So what caused this precious lake to disappear for nearly 300 years? 

Sun Zhicheng, a chief at the Gansu Dunhuang Xihu National Nature Reserve, said that since the Tang Dynasty (618-907) the Shule River has experienced four major retreats due to environmental changes and human activity. During the reign of the Qing Dynasty's (1644-1911) Yongzheng Emperor, large scale human immigration into the area led to the lake drying up completely. 

By the middle of the 20th century, large-scale water reservoirs were  built along the Shule River, causing a sharp increase in cultivated land, but placed great stress on local water resources. For these reasons, the Shule River section of the Dunhuang wetlands were engulfed by the surrounding Kumtag Desert, disappearing from people's sight completely.

Recovery efforts 

Sun Zhicheng said that hala is Mongolian for "black and broad," while qi means bow. The basic meaning of the lake's name means Halaqi Lake is the bow of the Shule River that shoots at the desert as the first natural defense. 

The reappearance of Halaqi Lake has not only effectively blocked the expansion of the Kumtag desert to the east, but has also further acted as an ecological security barrier in the west. According to Sun, the restoration of Halaqi Lake is the result of the Dunhuang Comprehensive Utilization of Water Resources and Ecological Protection plan. 

Established in 2011 and expected to be fully completed in 2020, the plan established a water rights system in the basin, strengthened water resource management and promoted water conservation reform.

With the establishment of the water rights system, the main stream of the Shule River was once  again able to flow into the lake area, alleviating the deterioration of the ecological environment. In 2017, the lake began growing again and managed to grow considerably in just five months this year. 

It is estimated that by 2020, the desertification of the land and the natural grassland's ecological deterioration at the edge of the oasis will be contained.

 "If we fully implement the plan, locals can use tap water for almost six or eight months per year [instead of drawing on the lake], which will reduce the usage of water from Halaqi Lake. We want to stop the invasion of the desert, and build a green world in Dunhuang to better protect the cultural heritage of Dunhuang," Sun said.
Newspaper headline: Water of life