In late July, Yu Xiaohui drove hundreds of kilometers from Beijing to the eastern tip of the Kubuqi Desert in Ordos, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, because her 9-year-old daughter wanted to see sand.
She expected a barren wasteland. Instead, she found a desert playground of luxury hotels, water parks, cable cars and camel rides.
"It's not exactly what I pictured," she said. "It feels like people and nature are really connected here."
Once one of China's most inhospitable landscapes, the Kubuqi Desert has seen its outer edges transformed into a sprawling resort complex. The desertification control rate has climbed from 4.6 percent at the turn of the century to some 50 percent today — a turnaround that authorities said marks a historic shift from losing the battle against the encroaching desert to winning it.
An example of that change is Xiangshawan, or "singing sand bay" — a 5A-level scenic area, China's highest tourism rating — named for the low hum that its dunes emit when wind passes over them. The sound comes from honeycomb-like pores in the sand grains that vibrate under pressure.
Opened for day visitors in 1984 as a simple tourist attraction, it evolved into a full-fledged resort complex after its 1999 corporate restructuring, earning its name as the nation's first desert resort. Visitors can enter by cable car, then travel between resort islands on vintage trains or off-road vehicles. Camels also carry tourists across the dunes.
The resort's centerpiece is the Lotus Hotel, a white, flower-shaped property on Liansha Resort Island that opened in 2016. The hotel operates on an all-inclusive model, with peak-season rates starting at 2,280 yuan ($340) per person for a two-day, one-night package. Guests receive VIP access to cable cars and unlimited entry to other leisure islands, which offer rides, performances, a pool and evening activities including bonfires, fireworks and stargazing.
"The idea is that you can just check in and not worry about anything else," said Li Jin'e, Xiangshawan's marketing director.
The leisure islands offer dune buggies, roller coasters and a water world with speedboats and a sandcastle sculpture park that has gone viral on Douyin, China's version of TikTok. Evenings bring candlelight hotpot by the pool and fireworks over the dunes.
Li said the resort's philosophy is simple: A vacation means slowing down, even if that means doing nothing at all. "Even lying by the pool for a whole morning — that's a vacation," she said.
Yu and her daughter spent their first night stargazing with a guide, who pointed out constellations including the Cowherd and Weaver Girl, stars from a classic Chinese folk tale about lovers separated by the Milky Way. The next day, they explored desert plants and spotted a lizard native to the desert region.
International visitors are also increasingly drawn to the desert. Wei Hongyan, general manager of Xiangshawan's marketing company, said the resort offers curated tour routes, foreign-language guides and Halal dining to cater to overseas guests, who come not just for scenery, but to immerse themselves in desert culture.
Direct flights from South Korea, Thailand and other regional markets have made access to nearby Ordos Ejin Horo Airport easier.
In July, Xiangshawan received about 16,000 foreign tourists — up 176 percent year-on-year — with most coming from South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
