A tourist splashes water on the frozen Songhua River on December 18, 2023 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province of China. The water immediately freezes into ice in the frigid air. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

A woman wearing a costume takes selfies while waiting for a photo shooting session in front of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China on January 5, 2024. (Photo by Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

Tourists are watching the sunrise from a viewing platform on the Three Gorges Dam in Yichang, China, on June 23, 2024. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

The second of six C-17 Globemaster III airlifters for the United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defence is being assembled at the Boeing assembly facility on May 10, 2011 in Long Beach, California. The UAE will take delivery of three more C-17s this year and two in 2012 as it modernizes its airlift capabilities. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Yueyaquan is a crescent-shaped lake in an oasis, 6 km south of the city of Dunhuang in Gansu Province, China. It was named Yueyaquan in the Qing Dynasty. According to measurements made in 1960, the average depth of the lake was 4 to 5 meters, with a maximum depth of 7.5 metres In the following 40 years, the depth of the lake continually declined. In the early 1990s, its area had shrunk to only 5,500 m2 with an average depth of 0.9 meter (maximum 1.3 meter). In 2006, the local government with help of the central government started to fill the lake and restore its depth; its depth and size have been growing yearly since then. The lake and the surrounding deserts are very popular with tourists, who are offered camel and 4x4 rides.

Liu Yang, China's first female astronaut, waves during a departure ceremony at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, on June 16, 2012. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters via The Atlantic)

Young dancers perform at a preview show for the Chinese Lantern Festival which falls on February 6 and traditionally marks the end of the Lunar New Year celebrations on February 3, 2012 in Beijing, China.The Lantern Festival also known as the Yuanxiao Festival or Shangyuan Festival in China.(Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

A Chinese couple take pictures in an interactive installation art work named “You and Me” on Valentine's Day at 798 Art Zone on February 14, 2012 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)