Despite the glaring sun on the early afternoon of June 21, Mingsha Mountain was rife with activity. Located in Dunhuang City in northwest China's Gansu Province, the mountain was a perfect backdrop for tourists. Teams of camels, strung together by reins, zigzagged along undulating sand dunes carrying visitors on their backs. Some guests, undaunted by the heat, scaled the dunes by foot aided by a rope ladder lay across the sand. Others sauntered around the Yueya Lake at the base of the sand dunes, while some chose instead to rest in the refreshing shade of a cluster of weatherbeaten pavilions flanked by a few stout willow trees planted by a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) general marching through the desolate region. More adventurous souls took to the sky either on gliders or in small helicopters.