Lop Nur

English

Alternative forms

• Lop Nor

Etymology

From Uyghur لوپنۇر (lopnur), from Written Oirat ᠯᠣ᠊ᠫ
ᠨᡇᡇᠷ (Lob nuur), from ᠯᠣ᠊ᠫ (Lob) +‎ ᠨᡇᡇᠷ (nuur, “lake”), where the former is itself of unknown origin from older times, possibly Old Uyghur. Compare Mandarin 羅布淖爾／罗布淖尔 (Luóbùnào'ěr), 羅布泊／罗布泊 (Luóbù pō, “Lop Lake”).

Proper noun

Lop Nur

1. A largely dried up salt lake, known for being used as a nuclear testing site, located in southeastern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.
   • [1983, James C. H. Shen, “Rejoining the Government”, in Robert Myers, editor, The U.S. & Free China: How the U.S. Sold Out Its Ally‎^[1], Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books Ltd., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 39:

     Kennedy at the time was greatly concerned over reports that the Chinese Communists were secretly conducting nuclear explosions at Lop Nor in Northwest China—a sure indication they were working on atomic weapons. This was the period when Moscow and Peking were still close to each other, otherwise it might have been possible for the United States to devise a way to neutralize Peking's nuclear potential at an early stage. At their meeting Kennedy asked Chen many questions about Lop Nor. Could he have been thinking of a preventive surgical strike?]

   • 1998, John Hare, The Lost Camels of Tartary: A Quest Into Forbidden China‎^[2], Abacus, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 4:

     I've taken camels over the forbidding Kum Tagh sand dunes and crossed the 200-kilometre-long dried-up lake-bed of Lop Nur.

   • 2016 [1924], Hermann Wieland, translated by Gregory Klanderud, Atlantis, Edda & Bible‎^[3], Hermitage Helm, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 203:

     It also seems apparent that he fought with the Red tribes against Germany. His symbol was found by Sven Hedin even as far away as in Lop Nur in China (see Figs. 45-48).

   • 2015 May, Damian Harper et al., China (Lonely Planet)‎^[4], →ISBN, →OCLC, page 982:

     Many visitors to Xīnjiāng will experience this huge expanse during their travels or can arrange camel-trekking tours and expeditions through its vast sand dunes. China’s biggest shifting salt lake, Lop Nur (the site of China’s nuclear bomb tests) is also here.

   • 2020 April 15, Jonathan Landay, “China may have conducted low-level nuclear test blasts, U.S. says”, in Reuters‎^[5], archived from the original on 16 April 2020, World News:

     U.S. concerns about Beijing’s possible breaches of a “zero yield” standard for test blasts have been prompted by activities at China’s Lop Nur nuclear test site throughout 2019, the State Department report said.
     Zero yield refers to a nuclear test in which there is no explosive chain reaction of the type ignited by the detonation of a nuclear warhead.
     “China’s possible preparation to operate its Lop Nur test site year-round, its use of explosive containment chambers, extensive excavation activities at Lop Nur and a lack of transparency on its nuclear testing activities ... raise concerns regarding its adherence to the zero yield standard,” the report said without providing evidence of a low-yield test.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Lop Nur.

Translations

former salt lake in Xinjiang, China

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 羅布泊／罗布泊 (zh) (Luóbù Pō)

• Manchu: ᠯᠣᠪ
  ᠨᠣᠣᡵ (lob noor)
• Uyghur: لوپنۇر (lopnur)

See also

• Sogo Nur
• Gaxun Nur
• Koko Nur
• Bayannur
• Torot Nur
• Dalai Nur

Further reading

• “Lop Nur”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• Pelliot, Paul (1963) Notes on Marco Polo‎^[6], volume 2, Paris: L’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres et Avec Le Concours Du Centre National de La Recherche Scientifique, page 770

Anagrams

• lupron