Crescent Lake (Dunhuang)

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Crescent Lake Yueyaquan
The lake and pavillion in June 2006. What's left of the lake is on the far right.
Location	Gansu
Coordinates	40°5′12″N, 94°40′10″ECoordinates: 40°5′12″N, 94°40′10″E
Basin countries	China
Surface area	1.37 acre (1990s)
Average depth	4-5 m (1960) 0.9 m (1990s)
Max. depth	7.5 m (1960) 1.3 m (1990s)

For the lake in Washington, USA, see Lake Crescent.

For the lake in Oregon, USA, see Crescent Lake (Oregon).

Yueyaquan (Chinese: 月牙泉; pinyin: Yuèyá Quán) is a crescent-shaped lake in the oasis, 5 km southwest of the city Dunhuang of Gansu province, China. It was named Yueyaquan since Qing Dynasty. 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 with average depth of 0.9 meter (maximum 1.3 meter). Although local government had plans to restore the depth through filling with water, the lack of budget has delayed their actions. The lake and the surrounding deserts are very popular with tourists, who are offered camel and 4x4 rides.