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.

Rickshaw puller Shiori Yoshida, 28, attracts tourists to the guided tour at the Asakusa district in Tokyo, Japan on August 22, 2023. Pullers walk or run an average of 20 km (12 miles) a day and, in addition to being physically strong, they must have extensive knowledge of Tokyo and know how to engage with the tourists who mostly hire them for sightseeing. “I have fun and enjoy myself”, Yoshida said. “In order for the customers to enjoy themselves, I also enjoy myself”. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)

A mine worker is seen outside “The Progreso” gold mine near La Paz, November 13, 2014. According to local media, the president of the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) Marcelo Zabalaga said on Thursday that the falling price of oil and minerals in the international market will not affect the national economy. (Photo by David Mercado/Reuters)

Haitians pull a car atop a pushcart in Port-au-Prince, October 11, 1994. The price of gasoline has fallen to about $6 US per gallon since U.S. forces occupied Haiti. Before, gasoline had cost as much as $10 U.S. per gallon. (Photo by Eric Draper/AP Photo)

American model Cindy Crawford, 55, recreated her famous Pepsi advert from 1992 for the University of Wisconsin’s Cancer Care Unit. Limited edition prints of the model, shot by the photographer David Yarrow, have a $40,000 price tag and have raised $1 million. (Photo by David Yarrow Photography)

Ender Moreno looks for gold at La Culebra gold mine in El Callao, Bolivar state, southeastern Venezuela on March 1, 2017. Although life in the mines of eastern Venezuela is hard and dangerous, tens of thousands from all over the country head for the mines daily in overcrowded trucks, pushed by the rise in gold prices and by the severe economic crisis affecting the country, aggravated recently by the drop in oil prices. (Photo by Juan Barreto/AFP Photo)

France's Typhaine Solde competes in the women's long jump - T64 finals of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on August 28, 2021. (Photo by Kim Price/CSM/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A cow rests in a pen during the 93rd Hyogo Prefecture Livestock Industry Promoting Event on October 23, 2011 in Kobe, Japan. Hyogo is the center of producing fine beef such as Kobe beef and Tajima beef, and the highest hammer price of the auction was 5,001,000 Japanese yen (65,578.28 U.S. Dollars). Livestock Industry Promoting Event organizing official said, Fukushima nuclear accident and economy crises affected become les the price of Kobe and Tajima beef in this year. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)