February** Dynamic Incentive Program Did you know? China has spent more than 4 billion yuan to insist on manual water delivery for more than 10 consecutive yearsThe 88-hectare pond has been painstakingly worked. This pond is a source of clear water in our desert and is known as a spring that has not dried up for thousands of years.
Now, does this pond, which was once cared for by us, still maintain its clear water? Is it worth the effort?
In the western desert of China, there is a thousand-year-old spring, and its name is Crescent Spring. This magical place is located between the Badain Jaran Desert and the Taklamakan Desert, about 5 kilometers from Dunhuang City, Gansu Province.
Crescent Spring is located at the northern foot of Shaming Mountain, Mingsha Mountain starts from Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, extends 40 kilometers to the mouth of the Dang River in the west, and is about 20 kilometers wide from north to south. The name of the crescent moon spring** is in Shaming Mountain, and when the sand is blown by the wind, it makes a sound.
Viewed from above, the Crescent Moon Spring resembles a crescent moon embedded in the yellow sand, about 100 meters long, only 25 meters wide, and only 5 meters deep at its deepest point. Interestingly, despite the fact that the crescent springs are located at the foot of the dunes, when the sand is blown by the wind, they do not flow down the mountain, but up the mountain.
As a result, it has never been flooded with sand since the formation of the Crescent Spring. This is a bright pearl in the desert, known as the "first spring in the desert".
1.At the beginning of the Holocene 20,000 years ago, the crescent spring originated from the extension and expansion of the Gudang River channel, and eventually formed a closed waterlogged depression. The Danghe River originates from the glaciers of Shule South Mountain and Danghe South Mountain, flows northwest through Shaming Mountain, flows into Danghe Reservoir, and then goes northeast to Dunhuang City.
Originally, the Dang River and the Shule River continued westward after confluence near Hara Lake. However, due to the influence of wind and other factors in Shaming Mountain, the Danghe River was forced to divert to the north, leaving behind the precious natural landscape of Crescent Spring.
The region is located in an inland arid zone, with an average annual precipitation of only 40 mm, and the surface of the land often has a high temperature of more than 50 and evaporation. However, the crescent spring has never dried up since its formation, mainly due to its natural geographical advantages.
The Crescent Spring is located in an area with a single geological structure, and the surrounding strata are mostly limestone, reaching a staggering thickness of 380 meters. The tiny pores of these limestones effectively collect water, creating a large reservoir that is ideal for the storage and discharge of groundwater.
In addition, the water flow after the diversion of the Dang River is running all year round, and a large amount of river water penetrates into the ground, providing a continuous source of water for the crescent spring through underground waterways. These factors allowed Crescent Springs to survive in the extremely arid desert.
However, is there really no threat of the Crescent Moon Spring drying up?
Historical records show that during the Qing Dynasty, the crescent moon spring was able to accommodate large ships to sail, which shows its magnificence. Even in the 50s of the last century, the crescent spring was able to reach a length of 218 meters, a width of 54 meters, and a maximum depth of more than 9 meters.
However, from around the 60s of the last century, large-scale reservoirs began to be built on the Shule River and the Dang River, and large-scale reclamation and irrigation began to be carried out near the Crescent Spring, which eventually led to a drop in the water level, and the supply water source of the Crescent Spring was cut off, and the spring area continued to shrink.
In 1985, the precious water source in this desert plummeted from more than 20 acres to 69 acres, the average depth is only seventy or eighty centimeters, it is no longer possible to maintain the original meniscus form, and is facing the danger of being swallowed by quicksand.
To this end, the local emergency rescue called "Operation Save Crescent Spring" was launched. With the great attention of Dunhuang, the higher authorities immediately approved the application for the protection of the crescent spring, and in 1986 implemented a rescue plan, for which a lot of money was invested.
In the face of the disappearing crescent moon spring, we must take measures. First of all, we will dig deep into the crescent spring to remove the sediment from the bottom, then lay a large number of water pipes, and then replenish the crescent spring by artificial water injection.
Although we found a water replenishment**, the crescent spring water level will drop to the state it was before the water was filled a month later because the bottom of the crescent spring was covered with yellow sand and had a very strong permeability ability.
In addition, the water source from the outside world could not be integrated with the water of the Crescent Spring itself, resulting in a decline in water quality and a worsening ecology. All this reached a tipping point at the end of the 90s, when the crescent moon spring was already clearly visible at the bottom of the lake and was about to disappear.
In 2011, China spent 4.7 billion yuan to launch the "Dunhuang Comprehensive Plan for the Rational Utilization of Water Resources and Ecological Protection", which included the restoration of the Crescent Spring. Through the continuous progress of science and technology, we have finally found a reasonable way to save the crescent spring, that is, through the low dam recharge project.
The aim of the project is to limit the extraction of groundwater in the area and to create a large 98-hectare seepage site with a capacity of 980,000 cubic metres in the most critical section of the recharge channel upstream of Crescent Spring.
There are 12 seepage pools in this seepage site, and the farthest distance is only 8 kilometers from the crescent spring. Through ecological hydration, we send the water from the seepage site to the crescent spring in 3 to 5 days, so as to achieve the effect of replenishing the crescent spring.
Through the operation of the project, 40 million cubic meters of water will be delivered to the crescent spring every year, and the long-term water storage and replenishment will significantly improve the self-repair ability of the crescent spring, the water level will gradually rise, and the average water depth will also be restored to 1Around 6 meters, the crescent moon shape is abundant again.
But some have questioned whether it would be worth the huge investment to repair a small puddle that should have disappeared into the desert, and now it seems too costly to maintain it with annual infusions.
Crescent Spring: A thousand-year-old treasure of prices Crescent Spring, a small desert spring, has existed for tens of millions of years. In the long history of Gansu, its historical and cultural heritage is an immeasurable wealth, with an irreplaceable status and symbol.
If the crescent moon spring disappears into the yellow sand, it will undoubtedly be a sadness. In addition, Crescent Spring is also undertaking an important economic responsibility in Dunhuang and even the entire Gansu Province.
As early as 2015, the crescent moon spring of Mingsha Mountain was upgraded to a national 5A-level scenic spot. During the May Day holiday in 2021, Dunhuang received 107 tourists230,000 person-times, tourism income as high as 8900 million yuan.
Although this is not entirely dependent on the Crescent Spring, every visitor to Dunhuang will definitely go to see the Crescent Spring.
In 2023, as the epidemic subsides, domestic tourism will fully recover, and from January to April, the number of tourists received by the Crescent Spring in Mingsha Mountain in Dunhuang will reach 690,000 person-times, an increase of 620,000 people, with a growth rate of an astonishing 94627%, even exceeding the pre-pandemic data in 2019, 190,000 people.
Now that it is the May Day holiday, the crescent moon spring, with its profound historical heritage and unique existence value, will continue to make important contributions to the tourism industry in the western region and promote the orderly development of the western region, which is where the value of the crescent spring lies.