Urho Ghost City

The Junggar basin north of Karamay is one of the windiest parts of China, and where soft sandstone and mudstone lie exposed the wind has cut them into yardangs: long parallel ridges and blocks aligned with the prevailing direction, standing in rows with corridors between them like streets. Wind funnelling through those corridors produces howling and whistling, which gave rise to the ghost city name in local usage. Fossils including dinosaurs have come out of the same beds. Boardwalks and a shuttle road run among the formations, and the rock turns orange at sunset.

What you actually see

• The yardang ridges - wind-carved blocks aligned in rows.
• The corridors - street-like gaps between the formations.
• The sound - whistling and moaning when the wind gets up.
• The sunset colour - orange light on the sandstone at the end of the day.

When to go

April to May and September to October; summer in the Junggar basin is very hot with no shade, winter bitterly cold. Wind is strongest in spring, which is when the sound is most likely.

Honest expectations

Entry plus shuttle is charged and internal walking is limited to set boardwalks. There is no shade and the wind carries grit. Oil field infrastructure is visible around the area.

Nearby

Karamay lies south; the Duku Highway starts at Dushanzi nearby.