Xinjiang desert draws crowds for traditional Uygur sand therapy

From June to August, visitors to the Kumtag Desert in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region take advantage of a traditional alternative to a sauna by burying themselves up to the chest in scorching sand that reaches temperatures of nearly 50 C.

The practice is a traditional Uygur treatment for numerous ailments, including arthritis, chronic eczema, and vitiligo. It also relieves fatigue and muscle soreness.

But the buzz on social media is mostly about its ability to "pump out" shiqi (internal dampness) and hanqi (cold energy), making the desert a big draw for people from humid regions like Guangdong and Hunan provinces, who flock here to sweat out the excess. In traditional Chinese medicine, shiqi is seen as the root of many ailments.

Listed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage item in 2014, Uygur sand therapy is now partially covered by health insurance. For those who lie in its warmth, the sand offers an intimate healing that echoes more than a thousand years of desert wisdom.