Taklamakan Desert

Taklamakan Desert
View of the Taklamakan desert
Taklamakan Desert and Tarim Basin
Area337,000 km2 (130,000 sq mi)
Geography
CountryChina
State/ProvinceXinjiang
Coordinates38°54′N 82°12′E / 38.9°N 82.2°E / 38.9; 82.2
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese塔克拉瑪干沙漠
Simplified Chinese塔克拉玛干沙漠
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinTǎkèlāmǎgān Shāmò
Wade–GilesTʻa³-kʻo⁴-la¹-ma³-kan¹ Sha1-mo4
other Mandarin
Xiao'erjingتَاكْلامَاقًا شَاموْ
Southern Min
Hokkien POJThah-khek-lá-má-kan Soa-bo̍k
Dunganese name
DunganТакәламаган Шамә
Uyghur name
Uyghur
تەكلىماكان قۇملۇقى
Transcriptions
Latin YëziqiTeklimakan qumluqi
Yengi YeziⱪTəklimakan ⱪumluⱪi
Siril YëziqiТәклимакан қумлуқи

The Taklamakan Desert (/ˌtækləməˈkæn/ TAK-lə-mə-KAN) is a desert in northwest China's Xinjiang region. Located inside the Tarim Basin in Southern Xinjiang, it is bounded by the Kunlun Mountains to the south, the Pamir Mountains to the west, the Tian Shan range to the north, and the Gobi Desert to the east.