Desert city becomes luxury tourist attraction in northwest China

Shapotou, a district of Zhongwei, Ningxia, China, noted for the Tengger Desert, and bordering Inner Mongolia to the north and Gansu province to the west, is home to the exteriorly star-shaped five-star Desert Star Hotel which opened to tourists in November 2020 providing services such as star-gazing, sand therapy and dinner in a sight-seeing canteen.

Zhongwei City is located at the edge of Tengger Desert and is also in the arm of the Yellow River, forming a splendid scenery rarely seen in other places of China. The classic landscape of Zhongwei incorporates the great desert, the Yellow River, high mountains and oases.

Shapotou lies 20 kilometres to the west of Zhongwei City, where the waters of the Yellow River slice through the endless expanse of the Tengger Desert. The contrast of the vast Tengger Desert with the ever-flowing Yellow River is an extraordinary sight. Tourists can visit a naturally occurring “sand slide” and slide down a 100-meter-high sand dune. Alternatively, they can float on the Yellow River on an ancient form of transportation: a goatskin boat!

Starry skies, infinite sand and the Yellow River have attracted many tourists worldwide. Wang Xin, deputy manager of Desert Star Hotel said that all the rooms have been booked up before September.

Yuan Lingjie, a 26-year-old star-gazing tutor with Shapotou scenic spot notes "It's really an amazing experience to watch the Milky Way nowadays and this place has provided a wonderful experience for star-gazing.”