A Trip to Golmud: Encountering the World's Highest-Altitude Populus Euphratica Forest, the Most Vivid Color in the Desert

A six-day, five-night trip to Golmud, where I made several new friends and encountered many different landscapes.

The snow-capped Kunlun Mountains, the colorful Grand Canyon, the intoxicating Qarhan Salt Lake... Deserts, Gobi, snow mountains—everywhere we went, I captured so much.

As the first stop, the Populus Euphratica Desert Park, seeing the patches of green in the desert, I was awed by this powerful vitality.

In my imagination and in pictures I'd seen, the populus euphratica forest was a sea of golden yellow, its beauty enchanting. When I stepped into the Golmud Populus Euphratica Desert Park, the trees I saw were short and varied in size.

Sunlight sprinkled on the sand, scorching hot, and we were drenched in sweat.

As I documented each unremarkable populus euphratica tree, I admired their tenacious vitality. Facing the dead trees, I also captured their beauty.

Populus euphratica forests are known as the "Desert Guardians"—they "live a thousand years without dying, stand a thousand years after death, and remain upright a thousand years after falling."

Standing on the burning dunes, I recorded this extraordinary beauty.

He said this is the highest-altitude populus euphratica forest in the world, with different charms in every season, but he loves it most in late autumn.

He said many regions in northwest China have populus euphratica trees, each with its own characteristics—some famous for their age, others for their scale—but Golmud's populus euphratica forest is the most special, being at the highest altitude.

She said, real shot of Golmud's populus euphratica forest, at an altitude of 2,800 meters, covering 1,700 mu (about 280 acres), bleak and vast—super cool for photos.

She said this populus euphratica forest in the desert is over 30 square kilometers. In the vast, boundless desert, it looks unremarkable, but its tenacious vitality is the most vivid color in the desert.

I imagined myself in a red dress, twirling in this populus euphratica forest; I also thought about adding more green to this desert. That day, I forgot to bring the red dress, so I matched with a green similar to the populus euphratica trees, recording beautiful moments.

Not far away, the desert reserve was barren, in contrast to here...

I liked this tree beside the boardwalk with its dense leaves; the clump of populus euphratica to the right of the boardwalk had dried up, but their white branches against the blue sky were also a beautiful sight. Despite the heat, we enjoyed ourselves.

He said if we went further in, the scenery would be even more beautiful.

Due to our itinerary, we didn't stay long.

As soon as we arrived, several friends started flying drones for aerial shots.

The sky here was so beautiful, the white clouds like cotton candy.

Watching her in a long red dress, walking beside the populus euphratica forest, leaving a trail of footprints in the desert—it was also stunning.

She, wearing a white dress and a straw hat, ran forward.

He, a former host, didn't forget to turn on the microphone and start recording.

Our guide this time, Xiao Ma, was good-looking, so he also became our model.

Every journey brings different encounters, and as we shared each other's stories, we took another step forward.

Golmud Populus Euphratica Desert Park is 65 kilometers from downtown Golmud.

Here, we recorded in different ways, from different perspectives, capturing the most beautiful tree in our hearts—standing tall and proud against the wind and sand, guarding the homeland in the harsh environment.

Since ancient times, countless people have praised the populus euphratica tree. The populus euphratica trees standing in the Golmud desert each have a unique posture—like dragons soaring, giant pythons emerging, old monks meditating, or fairy cranes dancing...

If you come to record at dawn or during the twilight glow, the beauty of the populus euphratica forest would be even more outstanding.

Here, we cheered for this desert hero tree—the populus euphratica.