“White Sand Lake” is the most common (in English) of many and various names applied to this particular lake and/or its dunes or “dune mountain/s”.
To my knowledge, nowhere else on “our” planet is quite like it.
The alleged altitude of this Chinese lake’s surface is also “many and various”, but it appears to be at least 3,300 metres – approximately 11,000 feet – above sea level.
It sits right beside/below the Karakoram Highway, about 150 kilometres southwest of Kashgar (aka “Kashi”) in Xinjiang,
The surrounding “Pamir Plateau” is sparsely populated, stark, spectacular.
From the Chinese section of the Karakoram Highway one sees mind-boggling mountains, huge glaciers, “barren wastes”, montane grasslands, landslides, multi-hued rock walls, and a small but rapidly-growing number of stunningly crass, oversized, man-made “tourist attractions” and “facilities”.
Tourists cannot take donkey rides along White Sand Lake’s beach, but very hardy horses do await them, along with suitably “snowy” yaks.
On May 24 2024, the weather was not wildly inappropriate for “a day at the beach”.
In winter it would be “impossible”; however, in the unlikely event that the Karakoram Highway was still open, you just might be able to try ice-skating on White Sand Lake!
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