23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Travel
The bleak desert that feels like illusion

The sand dunes rise like a half-remembered dream—backlit, their forms blurring into the hazy sky, as if the desert itself is dissolving into the light. A wooden fence and a strip of green grass frame the scene gently, a small patch of warmth that feels like a quiet pause between the vastness of the desert and the soft, slow light of the day.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 07.2025
Date Uploaded: 11.2025
Photo Location: Dunhuang, China
Camera: HUAWEI P60 Pro
Copyright: © xinyue Zhong