Despite the gruelling sun it was pleasant to be out walking Baotou Metro Map . Soft sand dunes had given way to sharp outcrops of hard quartz pebbles which scrunched beneath Baotou Metro Map our feet – red, rose-pink, russet, lilac, purple, maroon, black and yellow. We took an undulating route until we came to a deep canyon blocking the way.
Numerous gulleys led part-way down and we slithered the rest, stopping only to work out where to cross the stream which snaked along the green corridor of the canyon base. We scrambled up into dry hills and eventually arrived at the ruined watchtower that marked the Barrier on the pass between the Lob Desert and the Tsaidam Basin, an important site in 100 BC, guarding the entrance to the southern arm of the Silk Road. It is a beautiful spot; beyond the multi-coloured quartz dunes were sand dunes and snowy mountains whose bases were lost in the heat haze.
