Lake Hongjiannao

Lake Hongjiannao sits on the boundary between Shenmu County and Inner Mongolia's Ordos region, in the middle of the Mu Us Desert. The sight of a large freshwater lake surrounded by sand dunes and desert scrub is genuinely striking — an ecological island in an increasingly dry landscape. The lake's shores are edged with reed beds and wetland vegetation, and in migration seasons it fills with birds: relict gulls, swan geese, bar-headed geese, and a variety of waders using the Eurasian flyway.

The lake has declined significantly since the 1970s: coal extraction around its perimeter has lowered the water table and reduced the lake area by roughly a third. Conservation efforts are ongoing, with restrictions on mining near the lake's catchment area. The current lake is still large enough to be impressive and still functions as a critical habitat, but it represents a fraction of its historical extent. Visiting in spring migration (April–May) or autumn migration (September–October) maximises the birdwatching value.

things to do sight wildlife
A story
Lake Hongjiannao is the largest freshwater lake in a desert in China — an ecological anomaly that exists because the lake basin intersects the local water table at a point where the Mu Us Desert's sandy substrate traps moisture. It has been shrinking for decades due to coal extraction around its perimeter, which lowers the water table, and the decline has been measurable and documented. The relict gull, a Near Threatened species that breeds nowhere else in this region, has its largest breeding colony here — an estimated five thousand pairs at peak. If the lake continues to shrink, that colony has nowhere else to go.