Crescent Lake was in a vast desert and was called Sha Jing

  There is a blue lake in a green basin surrounded by Echoing-Sand Mountain called Crescent Lake. It was given this name because of its shape and the clear water. In ancient China, Crescent Lake was in a vast desert and was called Sha Jing (meaning 'a well in the desert'). It is amazing that the lake was never buried by sands and never dried up during over two-thousand years. Strolling along the lake, tourists can appreciate the fish swimming leisurely in the water and the reflection of the standing poplars and elegant pavilions on the bank. These fore mentioned beautiful sights will be well worth the climb up the sand dune and will wash away your tiredness. Crescent Lake and Echoing-Sand Mountain are said to represent a beloved couple, who are loath to part. The two standing through thousands of years symbolize the way lovers and couples should cherish the true love they own. Bring the girl at the bottom of your heart to the appealing sight, you may gain more love from her.

  An ancient city that once served as China’s gateway to the West, Dunhuang is now threatened by very modern demands. A dam built three decades ago to help local farming, combined with a doubling of the population, have overstressed a fragile desert hydrology that had been stable for thousands of years. As more people arrived, the underground water table that is the city’s main source of drinking water started dropping.
  According to measurement made in 1960, the average depth of the lake was 4 to 5 meters, with maximum depth 7.5 meters. In the following 40 years, the depth of lake continually declined. In the early 1990s, the area of the lake had shrunken to only 1.37-acre (5,500 m2) with average depth of 0.9 meter (maximum 1.3 meter).