Lop Nor is a former, mostly dried-up salt lake located between the Taklamakan and Kumtag deserts in the southeastern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The lake was about 2,520 square kilometers in 1942, according to local authorities. A satellite image showed the lake dried up in 1958.

Scientists are still exploring the region to determine why it is so parched.

A number of archaeological sites, including Loulan, an ancient kingdom, and the Xiaohe burial site are found near or in the Lop Nor region. These sites are linked with ancient people of Indo-European origin.

Loulan was based around an important oasis city along the Silk Road. A mummy, the "Beauty of Loulan", was found at a gravesite in the region. The mummy is one of more than 200 well-preserved mummies discovered in the desert over the last few decades.

The Xiaohe Tomb complex, to the west of Lop Nor, contains about 330 tombs, 160 of which were violated by grave robbers. In 2006, a valuable archaeological find was made - a boat-shaped coffin wrapped in ox hide containing the mummified body of a young woman.

Wang Qian