Story Publication logo June 29, 2009

Abandoned Cities

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Desertification is one of the most important environmental challenges facing the world today...

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It is estimated that nearly 40 cities have been abandoned as a result of desertification in Northwest China in the past 2000 years. The old city of Yinpan, in China's western Xinjiang province, is one of those cities. Lying on the fringes of China's most formidable desert, the Taklamakan, its location is one of the harshest and most remote in all of China. Approximately 2000 years ago, the city of Yinpan was a successful, thriving and eclectic city, however the people's inability to adapt to disappearing water was one of the main reasons that led to the fall of this city. Now, as desertification and sandstorms increase each year, the city is under attack from the elements, slowly wiping the remains of this city off the few maps in remains upon.

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