Despite the great geographical distance between Jordan and China, the two countries' tourism memories meet in a desert scene dominated by vast sands. In southern Jordan, Wadi Rum, with its towering rocky mountains, red sands and desert camps, is a destination that draws visitors from around the world. Meanwhile, Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring in the city of Dunhuang, in Gansu Province in north-western China, offer another desert landscape, with sand dunes and a water spring nestled among the sands.
اضافة اعلان
During a field visit to the area as part of a press delegation that included representatives from several Arab countries, including Jordan, Al-Mamlaka observed a natural scene where stretches of sand merge with the sandy heights surrounding Crescent Spring. It is a tourism experience that attracts visitors keen to explore the desert and enjoy its natural features.
Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring lie about five kilometres south of Dunhuang, and are among the city's most prominent tourist destinations, combining sand dunes and water in a single desert area.
Mingsha Mountain takes its name, meaning "the singing sand mountain," from the sounds the sand makes as it moves and slides down the slopes, sometimes producing a humming or roaring sound like the wind.
The mountain stretches more than 40 kilometres from east to west and is about 20 kilometres wide from north to south. Its main peak rises to around 1,715 metres above sea level.
In the heart of the sandy landscape lies Crescent Spring, surrounded by dunes on all sides, forming a striking natural picture of sand and water in a desert setting.
What makes the spring unusual is that it remains visible amid the sands that surround it. The shifting dunes have not buried it, and it has kept its distinctive shape across long historical periods, making it one of the most famous natural landmarks in Dunhuang.
Although its geography differs, the scene in Dunhuang recalls the experience of desert tourism in Wadi Rum, where sand dunes form between rocky mountains, and the open spaces give visitors the chance to explore the desert.
The comparison between the two destinations shows what sets each apart. In Wadi Rum, the red sands give the place its distinctive visual identity, blending with towering mountains and rock formations. At Mingsha Mountain, the sand dunes dominate the scene, alongside the singing sand phenomenon and the presence of Crescent Spring in their midst.
In Wadi Rum, the tourism experience does not end with visiting the site and moving between the dunes and mountains. It extends to overnight stays in desert camps, which give visitors the chance to spend the night in the heart of the desert, watch the stars, eat local food, and learn about aspects of Jordanian culture and hospitality.
This kind of experience gives visitors more time to engage with the place, away from a quick visit. Staying overnight becomes an essential part of a tourism trip that combines exploring nature, desert activities and getting to know the local way of life.
At Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring, tourist activities range from climbing the dunes and enjoying the view from their heights, to riding camels that carry tourists across the sands.
The authorities at Mingsha Mountain provide electric vehicles that take visitors to the desert area where Crescent Spring lies. Visitors wear special foot coverings before walking across the sandy area. They receive an explanation about the site, and are given time to reflect and move around. Warning signs mark the areas where walking is permitted and the sandy heights that may be climbed.
Visitors can also watch camels carry tourists across the sands and take souvenir photographs, a scene that adds a traditional desert character to the experience.
The comparison between the two destinations shows how desert nature, despite differences in geography and landscape, can offer tourism experiences that are similar in some elements, and different in their details and cultural distinctiveness.
In Jordan, Wadi Rum is part of the Kingdom's tourism identity, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added it to the World Heritage List in 2011, as a site that combines natural and cultural value, with archaeological remains and rock inscriptions reflecting the history of human presence in the area.
In Dunhuang, China, Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring represent another model of desert tourism, where nature and tourism activities come together, in an area historically linked to the Silk Road and its position on the trade and cultural routes between East and West.
For Jordanian visitors, seeing the sand dunes in Dunhuang recalls familiar scenes from Wadi Rum, while also offering a different experience, reflected in the singing sands and the presence of Crescent Spring amid the dunes.
