1989 [1985 September 18], Jin Bohong, “My Days in Qinghai Province”, in In the Footsteps of Marco Polo[1], 1st edition, New World Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 75:
Lenghu is very high up. The climate is cold, there is no fresh water or vegetation. There was a saltwater lake here, and the dunes were wild and empty. If it weren't for the growth of the petroleum industry, the place would probably still be deserted.
1993 August, Miao Wang, Shi Bao Xiu, “Buried Cities and Shifting Sands — Onward to Dunhuang”, in Tu Nai Hsien, editor, From the Pamirs to Beijing: Tracing Marco Polo's Northern Route[2], Hong Kong: HK China Tourism Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 63:
At Niubiziliang we returned to the embrace of the Altun Mountains, then turning eastward we soon reached Lenghu, an oil city in Qinghai Province. The city of Lenghu was originally a salt lake. Located at a high altitude and in a frigid zone, it has no vegetation. The discovery of oil, however, has brought both people and vitality to this barren area. Today there are shopping arcades, cinemas, a TV station and hotels, but still one sees neither animals nor plants anywhere. Departing from Lenghu our car climbed up Dangjin Pass, the main passage leading to Gansu Province.
A number of oil fields are in operation, notably in the Mangnai area in the western part of the basin. A large oil refinery has been constructed at Lenghu, southwest of Dangjin Pass, and another has been built at Mangnai.
2019 March 4, Laurie Chen, “China opens ‘Mars camp’ for researchers, tourists and plans to send rover to red planet”, in South China Morning Post[4], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 March 2019, Science[5]:
Spanning 32 hectares (80 acres), the base is situated 60km (37 miles) from the town of Lenghu near the upper reaches of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, an arid desert region dubbed “the place on Earth that is most unlike being on Earth”, according to camp manager Gao Junling.[…] But the “Mars village” was originally proposed by the local government in 2017 as a cultural and educational centre for science, popular science and science fiction, according to Ma Wenwu, a member of the Mangnai city committee, which oversees Lenghu.
2023 May 10, “Xinhua Headlines: China develops cutting-edge observatory on "roof of the world"”, in huaxia, editor, Xinhua News Agency[6], archived from the original on 2023-05-10[7]:
Lenghu, a tiny town with about 500 permanent residents at an average altitude of 2,800 meters, will soon draw worldwide stargazers with a state-of-the-art observatory site located in northwest China's Qinghai Province.[…] "With the new observatory in sight, Lenghu is gaining popularity and attracting more tourists," said Zhang Jing, who works at a hotel in Lenghu town.
