Aiding Lake

Overview
Aiding Lake is located in the southwest of Turpan city and it is full of salt shells. At present, its outer circle is lacustrine plain, the surface is hard saline soil, the middle circle is saline swamp, and the bottom is silt. It is difficult for people to enter except in winter. The center of the lake is full of crystal salt.The best time to come to Lake Aiding is during Autumn. Aiding Lake,locates at the foot of north JueLuokage Mountain,ancient Chinese scholars call it JueLuohuan. Imaginary Uyghur calls it Aydingkol Lake, means moonlight lake or moon lake, due to the shape is like a moon.

History of Aiding Lake
According to various researches and studies, Aydingkol Lake of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has been developed as an inland lake about 20,000 years ago. As the result of Himalayan orogeny, it was formed to a vast freshwater lake with more than 50,000 square kilometers millions of years ago. But nowadays, this lake with a huge silver salt area is drying and struggling. Fish or birds are never seen in the lake except some living creatures such as insects, hares and mice. What is more, people even may be puzzled by the mirage and salt marshes around the lake once in a while because of the extreme heat here. Owing to the unique location and typical desert landscape, many visitors and explorers, Chinese and foreign, all flock to for sightseeing, shooting or doing researches each year.

What to see in Aiding Lake
The surface of the lake is completely encrusted with an ice-like layer of salt,and its shores are like quicksand,Glauber’s salt-used in detergents and as a diuretic-is manufactured here in a factory employing 3000 people.In the winter the lake freezes over,and trucks move out onto the surface collecting frozen salt to dump into troughs beside the lake.There it melts in the searing summer temperatures,which can reach 65?.Several Han Dynasty beacon towers loom over the lakeside. When you at there, you can see the dry lakebed & barren terrain in the area,take pictures around.

Basic Information
Location: Located in Gaochang District, Turpan City
Entrance Fee: 30CNY
Opening Hours: 9:30AM-20:00PM(peak season); 10:00AM-19:30PM(low season)
How to get there:
Private vehicle is the best way from Turpan city to Aiding Lake. It's more than 50KM south of Turpan City. You can also take tourist bus from Turpan City.