The Singing Sand Mountain
When the sand slides down the dunes outside Dunhuang, the desert gives out a deep, droning hum.
What was reported
Mingsha Shan, the 'Singing Sand Mountain', is a range of tall dunes just outside the old Silk Road town of Dunhuang. When the sand slides down the slopes, or people slide down them, the dunes give out a loud, low hum that can last for minutes. Chinese writings described the sound more than a thousand years ago.
Marco Polo described similar sounds in the deserts of Asia, and travellers believed they were the voices of spirits. Around 35 dunes worldwide are known to boom like this.
Explanations offered
Scientists agree the sound comes from dry, rounded grains of sand moving together in an avalanche. They still debate exactly how the grains synchronise, and why only some dunes sing.
- When
- Recorded for over a thousand years
- Where
- Mingsha Shan, Dunhuang, Gansu, China
- Witnesses
- Travellers and visitors
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.