TengriDesert

TengriDesert

The Tengri is classic desert – endless waves of sand dunes broken only by the occasional rocky crag. It seems devoid of life, but if you were lucky enough to see a critter called the Wall Owl. Wall Owls seem to be fairly similar to North American burrowing owls: they’re active during the daytime, likely live in burrows (as there are no trees to nest in), and probably feed on rodents and the large insects (beetles and desert cicadas) that run around on the dunes. You can see them often on the drier portions of your route, but the little guys rarely sit still long enough for a portrait.
While the dunes may be good hunting grounds for owls, they’re not so great for railway transportation when they migrate over the tracks. In order to ensure the free passage of trains along the Baotou-Lanzhou railway line, the Shapotou Desert Research Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has managed a dune stabilisation project in the area since 1956. To begin with, straw checkerboards one meter square are placed in the dunes, then after four or five years drought-tolerant shrubs are planted along the checkerboards.