Guai Shu Lin in Ejin Banner, Inner Mongolia (Tips, Photos & Map)

Plan your Inner Mongolia tour? Inner Mongolia is huge in size. Basically it is impossible to travel the major sites on a single trip. If you are interested in history and unique landscape, a trip to Western Inner Mongolia is highly recommended.

Location of Guai Shu Lin

"Guaishulin" or Guai Shu Lin, literally "weird forest, strange forest". Guai Shu Lin Forest here refers to the Dead Euphrates Poplar Forests in Ejina Qi ( Ejin Banner ), in the west of Inner Mongolia, China.

Guaishulin and Heicheng Historic City ( Khara-Khoto) are a combined tourist destination, a big draw in Ejina Qi ( Ejin Banner), Alxa League in the western Inner Mongolia. It is located 28km southwest of Dalaihubu, the seat of Ejina Qi government.

The Guai Shu Lin and Heicheng Historic Site Destination

Unlike the autumn yellow and golden leaves of Euphrates Poplar Forests in Ejina Qi, here in Guai shu Lin, you will see a land of typical of  "a dead scene of a battlefield" – dead and fallen Euphrates Poplar Trees. The death of the poplar trees in the area is the result of the decrease of ground water on the arid desert.

After death, the dead poplar trees show great desire for life, some standing upright, some refusing to fall down, others lying on the ground without being rotten. The Euphrates Polar trees narrate a story of “greatness” in the face of the arid and hard land for centuries.

Euphrates Poplar trees are said to “exist for three thousand years – live for one thousand years, dead for one thousand years and rotten for one thousand years”. Here you are able to feel the “Heroism” of the dead poplar trees.

How to Visit Guai Shu Lin

You are required to pay a combined an entrance ticket for Guaishulin and Heicheng Historic City ( Khara-Khoto) . Basically you should take the shuttle bus from the entrance to Khara-Khoto (Heicheng Ruins)15km away in the northeast.

After visiting Khara-Khoto (Heicheng Ruins), you again take the shuttle bus back and get off at the station of Guaishulin. You are supposed to walk through the east gate and end at the west gate which is linked to the main entrance.

You’d better off visiting Guai Shu Lin Forest in the later afternoon, so you are able to catch the magnificent view of the dark and dead scene under sunset. The sunset glow enlivens the dead scene.

Virtual Tour of Guai Shu Lin Forest

Now follow me to have a glimpse of Guaishulin – the dead Euphrates Poplar Trees, 28km southwest of Eijina Qi, west of Inner Mongolia.

Camel ride on the desert of the dead Euphrates Poplar Trees

The dead poplar trees stand up right with tenacious vitality.

A zigzag boardwalk winds through the dead scene allowing visitors to have a close-up view of the trees with a good opportunity of photography.

A mecca for photographers

The dead Euphrates Poplar Trees are under the sunset glow.

Sunset glow and the moon over the dead scene of Euphrates Poplar Forest

Tip:  Hassle-free Inner Mongolia  Guided Tours

If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours,  here are some options for guided tours to Inner Mongolia:

Further Readings