艾丁湖

艾丁湖的维语是月光湖的一意思。因为湖中的盐分结晶冰清玉洁而得名。此湖是冰川流水汇集于此而形成的。几亿年前这里曾是一个内陆海。时间更改了一切，现在变成了荒凉的湖泊。那种沧桑非常美，适合拍照。开车到这里大概50公里。

新疆最热的地方吐鲁番，中国最低的地方艾丁湖。乌鲁木齐白雪皑皑，这里温暖如春。

发表了博文 《【印象新疆】艾丁湖与红柳花》 - 在葡萄沟到兵团小村的路上，我们问范师傅附近是否有值得一去的地方，范师傅推荐了艾丁湖。 在新疆看多了湖景的我们并不十分感冒，觉得不去也罢。但范师傅说

分享图片中国最低地——艾丁湖，坐落在这氧气充足的小村庄——海底古民居，在这里尽情的呼吸，放肆的玩耍，痛快的歌唱……

We got here before sunset (thanks to non-BeiJing time, it was still open) and enjoyed walking along the boardwalk to the concrete globe. Luckily for us, it was duck feeding time.

You will either love, or hate this place. Not many tourists come here, and it is not on most tour itineraries. But it is a fascinating, harsh place..This place is the second lowest place on earth (140m below sea level) whilst also being about the furthest place in the world from the ocean. I suspect it is also close to the hottest place on earth in summer. We did actually fry an egg on the road here.There is a monument at the lowest point (a very hot 1 km walk from the carpark) And a series of plaques naming other low places in China (not surprisingly the cities at sea level, like Shanghai!).That is it. By the way the "lake" dried up a while ago, so it is now a salt pan - although fish skeletons can still be seen in the lake bed.It is one of those places you go to - to say you have been. If you are that sort of person.PS there is a fee, but never anyone there to collect it.Addendum - a couple of very nice Uighur villages to explore on the way to Aiding Lake from Turpan. And the road passes near some real karez systems (not the ones made for tourists in the Karez attractions) that can be explored - but take care they can be dangerous.