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.

A protestor confronts police and National Guard troops near the Wauwatosa City Hal on October 09, 2020 in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The city has faced three days of demonstrations, prompting a 7 PM curfew, after District Attorney John Chisholm refused to press charges against Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah for the Feb. 2 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Alvin Cole. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

In this December 8, 2020 file photo, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro playfully sprays a journalist with disinfectant as he exits a press conference at Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Attorneys for the cash-strapped government blame the impact of U.S. sanctions for its inability to make an initial $18 million down payment to the United Nations for doses of the U.N.-supplied vaccines, whose deadline has already passed. (Photo by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo/File)

A demonstrator uses a TV case as a facemask during a protest to demand justice for Daniel Prude, on September 3, 2020 in New York City. Protests were planned in New York September 3 over the death of Daniel Prude, a black man that police hooded and forced face down on the road, according to video footage that prompted a probe from the state's attorney general. (Photo by Kena Betancur/AFP Photo)

Ace Wu searches the deep to photograph stunning underwater creatures. Against their predominantly black backdrops, Wu’s breathtaking subjects glow with sublime vibrancy. In one, a fearsome fish glares at the camera with rows of sharp teeth showing, while in another, a translucent octopus looks like an extraterrestrial. Here: Wunderpus larva. (Photo by Ace Wu/Caters News Agency)

A demonstrator wearing a The Martians from Sesame Street costume holds a placard depicting U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, U.S Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson as people march down the National Mall to take part in a “No Kings” protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's policies, in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 18, 2025. (Photo by Leah Millis/Reuters)

Olivier Giroud of AC Milan scores the second goal during the Serie A TIM match between AC Milan and AS Roma – Serie A TIM at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on January 14, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters)