Lop Nur, the Lost Fairy Lake

There is a lop Nur on the edge of Taklimakan desert. Since the Swedish explorer Sven Hedin broke into Lop Nur in the early 20th century, it has gradually become known. 1980, Peng, a famous scientist in China, disappeared during a scientific investigation. 16 years later, the explorer Yu Chunshun was killed there again, adding a bit of mystery to Lop Nur. ? Lop Nur Lop Nur. The endless Gobi Desert has no grass, trees and streams, and the temperature in summer is as high as 70℃. Lop Nur, there is not a bird in the sky, and no bird dares to cross it. However, the former Lop Nur was not a desert. In the distant past, it was an oasis of life, with herds of cattle and horses, surrounded by green forests and clear rivers. Lop Nur, on the left side of the word "berth" is three points of water! Open the history books about the western regions, and you will marvel at the prosperity and excitement of Lop Nur. Hanshu Biography of the Western Regions records the endless green corridors drawn by 36 countries in the western regions in the vast hinterland of Eurasia. Walking here in summer is no different from walking in Jiangnan. In the past, the rich water system in Tarim Basin nourished the vast green space. At that time, Zhang Qian walked out of Yangguan and shouldered a great historical mission. When he set foot on this imaginary desolate and bleak land, he was shocked by its beauty. Zhang Qian saw green and golden wheat waves everywhere. From then on, Zhang Qian led the people to open up the famous Silk Road. According to historical records, in the 4th century AD, the surface of Lop Nur exceeded 200,000 square kilometers. In the 20th century, there were 1 1,000 square kilometers of water. Sven Hedin also took a boat when he entered Lop Nur in 1930s. He sat in the boat and circled the water with great interest. He stood at the bow and looked around, sighing at the beautiful scenery here. After returning to China, Sven Hedin wrote in his masterpiece Eight Years' Adventure in the Hinterland of Asia: Lop Nur surprised me. Lop Nur is like a fairy lake, and the water surface is like a mirror. In the warm sunshine, I walked on the boat like a fairy. Not far from the boat, several wild ducks are playing on the lake, fish gulls and other birds are singing happily ... This water area praised by Sven Hedin completely disappeared in the 1970s, and Lop Nur has since become a horrible place. The disappearance of Lop Nur is directly related to Tarim River. The total length of Tarim River is 132 1 km, which is the largest inland river in China and the second largest river in the world. According to the Records of Waterways in Western Regions, before the 1920s, the lower reaches of Tarim River were densely covered with blue waves, surrounded by Populus euphratica and luxuriant trees. From 1925 to 1927, under the command of the Kuomintang government, the Tarim River diverted northward into the Peacock River and flowed into Lop Nur, resulting in drought and water shortage in the lower reaches of the Tarim River, and 3 10 villagers in three villages fled their homes, abandoned cultivated land and expanded desertification. After liberation, the middle reaches of Tarim River were rebuilt in 1952 due to the construction of Luntai Dam. The ecological environment in the lower reaches of Tarim River has been improved, and the branches of Populus euphratica have spit out green leaves, and the original abandoned cultivated land has grown grass and turned into pasture. The problem lies in the past 30 years. The population on both sides of the Tarim River has soared, and the demand for water has also increased. The expanded cultivated land needs water, and so does the exploitation of mineral resources. Where does the water come from? People desperately asked the Tarim River for water. Over the past decades, more than 30 reservoirs have been built in Tarim River Basin. Dig dikes at will to repair 138 water intake, and build more than 400 pumping stations. Some pumping stations will pump more than 10,000 cubic meters a day. Blindly increasing the water consumption of cultivated land, blindly building reservoirs to intercept water, blindly digging dikes to divert water, and blindly building pumping stations to pump water, the "Four Blindnesses" acted like a huge water-sucking ghost, and finally drained the Tarim River, which drastically reduced its length from 1, 32 1 km in the 1960s to the current shortage of 1, 000 km, 320 km. After Lop Nur dried up, the surrounding ecological environment changed immediately, all the herbs died, and Populus euphratica forest, the defender of sand control, died in pieces, and the desert advanced into the lake at a rate of 3 to 5 meters per year. Lop Nur soon merged with the vast Taklimakan desert. Lop Nur disappeared. In October, I stood on the bridge of Tarim River in Bayinguoleng Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. Looking around, Populus euphratica forests on both sides of the Tarim River look like a great green wall. Populus euphratica is called "Tuo Clark" in Uygur language, which means "the most beautiful tree". Populus euphratica forest is a natural shelter and habitat for livestock. Horses, deer, wild camels, gazelles, egrets, etc. 100 kinds of wild animals thrive in the forest, accompanied by licorice, camel thorn and other desert plants. Together, they formed a special ecosystem, created oases and raised more than 7.5 million sons and daughters of all ethnic groups in southern Xinjiang. Such an important Populus euphratica forest died in a large area because of the drought in the lower reaches of Tarim River. 1958, there were 7.8 million mu of Populus euphratica forest in Tarim River Basin, which has been reduced to 4.2 million mu. With the sharp decline of Populus euphratica forest, the area of land desertification in Tarim River Basin increased from 66% to 84%. "Sand enters people and retreats" has become a reality in the lower reaches of Tarim River. Kurukum in Luobuzhuang area is closed to Taklimakan Desert, the second largest desert in the world, and devours the Great Green Wall in the crevice. The 2 18 National Road passing through it has been buried by the desert at 197. After we walked 200 kilometers west along the Tarim River, the Great Green Wall suddenly disappeared from our eyes. Populus euphratica forests on both sides of the Tarim River are the same color as the sand on both sides. Due to lack of water, hundreds of kilometers of the Great Green Wall collapsed in thirst. ? The Populus euphratica forest in Lop Nur, known as the eternal Populus euphratica forest, has finally become a dry "mummy" after enduring thirst for more than 20 years. The grotesque dead branches and the body unwilling to fall down after death seem to show the struggle and pain of Populus euphratica at the last moment of life, and it seems to be helping someone! Further on, we reached the edge of Lop Nur. The comrades who came with me told me that I couldn't go any further. If you want to enter Lop Nur, you must have at least two cars and enough food and water. We had to get off and look at Lop Nur, which is close at hand. Standing on the edge of Lop Nur, you will suddenly feel that the desert is the bare chest of the earth, and the earth takes off its coat, revealing its skins and bones. Standing on the edge of Lop Nur, you can see clearly the arrangement direction of ribs, see the traces of vicissitudes of life, and you will feel the deep pain and helplessness in this chest. Can Lop Nur regain its former vitality? I asked myself. At this time, we stopped joking. That large piece of yellow sand deeply stung our hearts and made us all feel heavy. 30 years is just a moment in the long river of history. Thirty years ago, the lake with dense Populus euphratica and clear water disappeared from our eyes at this moment. The maker of this tragedy is human again! The tragedy didn't stop. The same tragedy happened in some other places. Qinghai Lake, a world-famous inland lake, has dropped by 8.8 meters in 50 years, with an average drop of 1 meter every six years, and the land extends to the lake for more than 10 km. In recent years, the Crescent Spring in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, which has not been buried by sandstorms for thousands of years, has shrunk from 1. 1.6552 million square meters in the 1950s to 5,397 square meters due to over-exploitation of groundwater and water. The water depth is only feet, and it is likely to dry up ... all this is man-made! Save Qinghai Lake, save Crescent Moon Spring, and save all the places that are about to become deserts due to human intervention!