In the vast yellow sand area of northwest China, there is a small town, surrounded by vast deserts, boundless. It's been around for 20 years, but with just over 200 residents, it's one of the most remote and inhospitable towns in the country.
There are huge differences in the development of townships and towns in various parts of our country, and many townships and towns in the eastern region are huge in scale and have large populations, and some of them are even on a par with county seats, and even larger than the scale of prefecture-level cities in some underdeveloped areas. For example, Humen Town, Yushan Town, Shishan Town, places like Dongguan, Kunshan, and Foshan have surpassed many prefecture-level cities in terms of population, construction area, and regional GDP, and their strength is extraordinary.
However, prosperity often comes with loneliness, and this small town in the inland northwest is almost forgotten by the world. Despite its vast size, it is sparsely populated, with most of the land covered by desert and the Gobi. This town is the town of Lop Nur in Ruoqiang County.
Lop Nur was established on January 23, 2002 and is now celebrating its 20th anniversary. The area of the entire town has reached a staggering 510,000 square kilometers, equivalent to half of the total area of Zhejiang Province. This makes it one of the largest townships in the country by area. However, despite the vast land, the population of the town is just over 4,000. The town is located in Luozhong, on the north shore of ancient Lop Nur, surrounded by desert and saline flats. It is 320 kilometers away from Ruoqiang County in the southwest, about 400 kilometers to the south, and 380 kilometers to Hami in the northeast.
There are only two main existences in Luozhong Town, Zhen** and Xinjiang Lop Nur Salt and Potash Technology Development Co., Ltd., with a total population of only more than 200 people, and most of them are floating population, among which the employees of SDIC Potash Mine are the mainstay. There is the only guesthouse in town, a petrol station and several restaurants, and there are several roadside garages that service passing vehicles. In the past, conditions were even more harsh, with residents living in bunkers and battling the harsh climate. Although conditions have improved in recent years, it will take more time to say that prosperity will take more.
The town of Lop Nur is located in the southeast of Xinjiang, surrounded by the Taklamakan Desert, the Kumtag Desert, the Nanhu Gobi and the Altun Mountains. The terrain here is flat, the natural conditions are extremely harsh, the whole town and the surrounding area are highly salinized salt flats, there is not a single grass, not a single bird or beast, and the climate is unpredictable. Especially in spring and summer, the heat is constant, the wind is raging, the sand is rolling, the summer temperature can reach 50°C, there is almost no rainfall, and the winter is bitterly cold.
There is no lush scenery, no birds and flowers, only endless yellow sand, and a desolation. In this ancient wilderness, vast salt flats stretch endlessly, and on the rolling sand dunes, the salt flats sparkle in the sun, but there is no trace of life. This place seems to be silently declaring itself a "forbidden area for life".
In Mongolian, Lop Nur is known as "Lop Nur", which means the place where many streams of water gather. It is located at the lowest point in the eastern part of the Tarim Basin, and because of its low-lying terrain, it brings together the water of the Tarim River, the Peacock River and the Cherchen River to form a large lake with an area of 3,000 square kilometers. In ancient times, Lop Nur was once a vast land of smoke and waves, with lush green grass and willows by the lake, which was once an oasis on the Silk Road and gave birth to the prosperous ancient kingdom of Loulan in the past. Loulan was once an important transportation hub of the ancient Silk Road, carrying an important passage for Arab merchants to travel eastward and the Han Dynasty to travel to and from the Western Regions.
According to historical records, during the Western Han Dynasty, the total population of Loulan exceeded 14,000 people, with a large number of business travelers, prosperous markets, neat streets in the city, and majestic Buddhist temples and pagodas. The villages and towns are orderly and the goods from all over the world are dazzling, and the merchants and monks shuttle back and forth, and the prosperity is unobstructed. The country of Loulan was once glorious for 800 years.
The Tang Dynasty poet Wang Changling described in "From the Army" that "Qinghai Changyun Dark Snow Mountain, the lonely city looks at Yumen Pass." The yellow sand wears gold armor in a hundred battles, and Loulan will not be returned if it is not broken. This shows that Loulan was still an important border town in the Tang Dynasty. However, after the Tang Dynasty, there was no record of the Loulan Kingdom in the history books, and this ancient country mysteriously disappeared;The disappearance of the Kingdom of Loulan has been a mystery for centuries, what happened?Where have its inhabitants gone?Why is there no trace?These questions have become unsolvable.
Scientists speculate that the disappearance of Loulan is mainly due to environmental problems. Wind-blown sand altered the path of the river water into the lake, causing Lop Nur to evaporate and dry up in the hot climate. Water is the lifeblood of Loulan, and once the water source is depleted, the trees die, the oases disappear, and the inhabitants have to abandon the city and migrate. In the raging desert storm, Loulan City experienced vicissitudes of life, and was finally buried by sand dunes and turned into a "sea of death" where no grass grows.
In 1900, Swedish geologist Sven Hedin visited the Lop Nur area for the third time. After getting lost in the wind and sand, when the storm subsided, he was surprised to see a tall city wall and various mud towers, surrounded by layers of wind and sand, and an ancient city standing miraculously in front of him. Hedin was shocked and excavated coins, ornaments, pottery shards and other antiquities from the ruins buried in the yellow sand. As the excavation progressed, a large number of Chinese paper documents and unique silk and wool fabrics, as well as exquisite wood carving ornaments, were discovered. These written materials confirm the existence of this ancient kingdom of Loulan, which has disappeared for nearly a thousand years, and it is once again presented to the world in this unusual way.
The discovery of the ruins of the ancient city of Loulan shook the world and was praised as the "Pompeii of the East". The mysterious disappearance and unexpected appearance of Loulan has attracted global attention and attracted many Chinese and foreign explorers to explore this mysterious ancient country. To this day, Loulan has been a hot topic for explorers, historians and travelers.
After thousands of years of sandstorms, the geological conditions of the ancient city of Loulan have become very fragile. In order to preserve the site, visitors need to go through the relevant procedures to obtain permission to enter. Any trespass is punishable severely. In addition, in order to protect the ruins of the ancient city of Loulan, tourists need to pay a hefty fee, which is more than 3,000 yuan per person for domestic tourists and more than 300,000 yuan for foreign tourists.
Although Loulan has long been covered by wind and sand, and Lop Nur has dried up and ceased to exist, why build a town in such a desolate place?
At the end of the last century, a team led by the famous Chinese geologist Wang Mier discovered a reserve of more than 2A 500 million tonnesque super-large liquid potash deposit. The deposit is also the largest sulphate-type brine potash deposit ever discovered in the world and is essential for agricultural production because it contains potassium sulphate, which is an indispensable fertilizer.
In the 21st century, after large-scale development, this region has become the world's largest production base of potassium sulfate fertilizer. SDIC Xinjiang Lop Nur Potash Co., Ltd. came into being to provide high-quality and reasonable potassium sulfate fertilizer for farmers in China and even the world, which has greatly alleviated the shortage of potash fertilizer in China.
Like the town of Tazhong, Lop Nur is rich in minerals, and it thrives on potash resources. In 2002, the town of Lop Nur was officially established, and after 20 years of construction, the town's infrastructure has been gradually improved.
Today, Lop Nur is once again covered with water, but this time not freshwater, but salt water. The underground brine is pumped into the pumping wells and then into the brine canals, which are then pumped through the pumping stations into larger, pale green brine rivers. After the treatment of the ** pumping station, a huge salt lake of nearly 200 square kilometers was formed, and the potash reawakened Lop Nur. The Great Lake, which had disappeared for many years, once again presented a magnificent scene of sparkling and vast blue waters.
However, despite the "resurrection" of Lop Nur, the lake is too salty for plants to grow, and it is still a desolate place. With the vigorous development of this area by the state, the number of residents around Lop Nur is gradually increasing. Perhaps in the near future, as development continues, the town of Lop Nur may regain its prosperity.