The 'salt flats and emerald waters' on the Gobi Desert

In the western part of the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai Province, the towering Kunlun Mountains and Altun Mountains converge here, forming a unique landscape, embedded in the adjacent Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Here, nature is freely displaying its magic and grandeur, it has a desolate and vast name - Mangya. This city at the westernmost point of Qaidam is known as the 'western gate of Qinghai' due to its important transportation geographical location of 'bearing the interior, opening up to Xinjiang and connecting to Gansu'. At the same time, it is also known as the 'loneliest city in China' because it is more than 1200 kilometers away from the provincial capital Xining and there is no city within 300 kilometers around it. Emerald Lake is located on the eastern edge of Gas Lake, southwest of the Mangya Executive Committee Huatugou Town. It is about 32 kilometers away from the government seat, south of the towering Kunlun Mountains, and north of the Altun Mountains. It is a rich and beautiful artificial salt lake. Mangya Emerald Lake is a subtype of magnesium sulfate salt lake, with a salt layer at the bottom, and the lake is rich in lithium, potassium fertilizer, mirabilite and other salts. It is a large pit formed by many years of salt lake mining. The color of Emerald Lake is formed by the reflection of light through the minerals in the lake. The salt pools are of different depths and shapes, scattered around like mirrors, pure and transparent, like emeralds embedded in the Gobi, truly the Emerald Lake. Across from the Emerald Lake Scenic Area is the Hero Ridge Oil Sand Mountain with grooves and wrinkles. The brown Hero Ridge Oil Sand Mountain is reflected in the white and green emerald sky mirror, adding an ice-clear emerald to the 'hero's' broad 'forehead', and adding a touch of tenderness to Mangya, a Silk Road post station passed by Han envoy Zhang Qian. The lake water like emerald, the azure sky, the ancient snow-capped mountains, and the seemingly reachable white clouds have become the unique beauty of Emerald Lake in Qinghai. The sky is blue and the rain is waiting, and 'she' is waiting for you in this quiet northwest. Geographical location: Mangya City, Qinghai Province (near the border of Qinghai and Xinjiang) Development level: undeveloped, no official entrance Tickets: free Recommended time: June-October, after 3 pm in the afternoon