Chinese City's Wonders Could Disappear In Desert

An ancient city in northwestern China, Dunhuang, is in danger of disappearing into a growing desert -- forever burying unique natural and cultural wonders, the Chinese environmental protection agency has warned according to a report in The South China Morning Post.

Some of the natural wonders of the city include the Ringing Sandhills and the Moon Crescent Lake -- in addition to one of the world's greatest collections of Buddhist art. The solution is to set up a protection zone to help the ancient city's 1,000-year-old assets survive the encroaching waves of sand surrounding it.

The city's peril has been a slow-moving crisis, as rivers, lakes and underground reservoirs of water have slowly dried up as people pump water for farmland irrigation. Water in the Moon Crescent Lake sits at 10% of the level it did 40 years ago. Wind and sandstorms have also grown in intensity. The population of the city has spiraled upward -- doubling twice in a half century.

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