Shaanxi, Yulin is like an oasis in the desert. It borders the desert, but looks totally different from everywhere around the region. I was so surprised when I saw rice paddies as we drove into Yulin coming from the north. The western side of Yulin is slowly being encrouched by the desert.
Picture source: Land Resources in the Loess Plateau of China, edited by The Northwest Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Academia Sinica, published by Shaanxi Science and Technique Press, 1986.