Salar de Uyuni (salar is salt flat in Spanish) is currently the world’s largest salt flat at 10,582 square kilometers (4,086 sq mi). Actually, some 30,000–42,000 years ago, the area was part of a giant prehistoric lake, Lake Minchin. When it dried, it left behind two modern lakes and two major salt deserts, Salar de Coipasa and the larger Salar de Uyuni.

Located in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes, it is covered by a few meters of salt crust, which has an extraordinary flatness with the average altitude variations within one meter over the entire area of the Salar. The large area, clear skies and exceptional surface flatness make the Salar an ideal object for calibrating the altimeters of Earth observation satellites.

When covered with water, this extraordinary place becomes one of the largest mirrors on Earth.Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest natural mirror that is often seen reflecting the iridescent sun, snow-covered mountains and infinite blanket of clouds. This is the perfect exemplification of land imitating the skies. Tour Salar De Uyuni is exactly the place that would not just offer a visit, but also the experience of a lifetime.Solar De Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat, sited in Bolivia which has been dubbed as the “heaven on Earth”. It is renowned to be one of the most favorite places for photographers, today. This land is stretched at a height of 3653m (11,985ft) in the Potosi region, near the peak of the Andes. During dry seasons, the salt plains comprise of dry salt, but in the wet seasons, the salt plains are concealed with a thin sheet of water. The seasonal puddles of salt make one of the most awe-inspiring spectacles on the planet. It is a place of sheer magnificence, since, apart from being the world’s largest salt flat, it is also the biggest reserve of lithium on earth and a paramount place to calibrate satellites. Bolivia Salt Lake Mirror also attributes in producing a whopping 25, 000 tons of salt every year. The salt in Salar de Uyuni is mostly comprised of lithiumchloride(liCl) in contradiction to regular kitchen salt which is sodiumchloride(NaCl)During the Salar De Uyuni Tours, Visitors get delighted at the vastness of the Uyuni Salt Lake Bolivia and enjoy the shallow pool in winters with every fiber of their being. Many visitors often find themselves short of words when asked to describe the simplicity in the beauty of this nature’s wonder. You will also have an encounter with islands of fossilized coral filled with cacti that adds to the beauty of scenery, Fish Island (Isla Cujiri) and Fishermens Island (Isla Inkawasi), to name a few. This remote location in Southwest Bolivia was on my list for our Nature Blows My Mind series because I love this juxtaposition of barrenness and otherworldliness. When I first saw photos of Bolivia's stunning salt lake, the Salar de Uyuni, I marveled at a landscape that was both remarkably simple, but also stunningly beautiful. While it is normally an arid, barren surface of salt, creating one of the least inhabitable areas of the world, during the rainy season, Salar de Uyuni becomes one of the world's largest mirrors.No longer are our eyes drawn into the cracks of the salty earth or focusing on the far away horizon. When the clouds and the reflection are right, the Salar de Uyuni provides us a mental escape from this Earth, in its place providing us a glimpse at scenes that may have previously only resided in our dreams or imagination. We think of this as otherworldly, because until you learn of its realness, we just aren't likely to think of places like this existing in this world. The endless sky, enveloping everything around us, creating a seamless sea of clouds, is more like what we may picture when we think of Heaven or remember a peaceful dream.But this isn't Heaven. It's not a dream. The Salar de Uyuni is real. It is out there right now, probably looking even more beautiful than we see in these photos. And while most of us will never visit, thinking of this one feature of this one spot in this one remote corner of one country on one of our seven continents, I can't help but wonder about all the other places. This planet is ceaselessly amazing and this is just one reason why nature blows my mind.

Salar de Uyuni (or Salar de Tunupa), located in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes, is one of the most visually captivating place in South America. Photographers flock here everyday to capture the stunning landscape created by amazing geological formations, geothermal springs and brine lakes. Covering an area of 10,582 square kilometers, it is the world's largest salt flat. Salar de Uyuni is estimated to have a reserve of 10 billion tons of salt.
Some 30 to 40 thousand years ago, this area was part of a giant prehistoric lake called Lake Minchin. The lake underwent a series of transformation between several vast lakes, and when it dried, it left behind two modern lakes, Poopó Lake and Uru Uru Lake, and two major salt deserts, Salar de Coipasa and the larger Salar de UyunIn the dry season, the salt planes are completely flat expanses of dry salt, but during the wet season, the neighboring Lake Poopó overflows and floods Salar De Coipasa and Salar de Uyuni covering both deserts with a thin sheet of water that looks magnificent under the vast open sky.
Underneath the surface of the Salar is a lake of brine 2 to 20 meters deep. The lake is covered with a solid salt crust with a thickness varying between tens of centimeters to a few meters. The center of the Salar contains a few "islands", which are the remains of the tops of ancient volcanoes which were submerged during the era of lake Minchin. They include unusual and fragile coral-like structures and deposits As well as the rich mineral wealth of the area it also plays host to stunning wildlife in the shape of some massive flocks of pink flamingos.
Despite the dry nature of the salt plain because of its height in the mountains the average temperature is steady around 21C in the summer.
The impact of mining on the tourism industry remains uncertain.
However it has yet to deter tourists from staying with the locals in Atulcha, Villamar and San Juan, all located around the salt flats.
Visitors to the area can take in the vast white expanse of salt and the stunning surrounding vistas, while staying with locals in an area which feels cut off from the modern world.
For just $15 a day, tourists can lodge with peasant families in homes without running water or electricity - and outhouses used as bathrooms.
But despite the loss of home comforts, they can join in with local activities - such as the annual llama-shearing season in August, or joining llama caravans that deliver salt blocks to remote villages in exchange for food and other goods.
Although tourists have long been visiting the area, it wasn't until around five years ago that interest grew in extracting the 5.4m tons of lithium which is found just below the surface of the salt.
World’s largest salt lake known as Salar de Uyuni (Uyuni salt flat) is a visually captivating place, one of the most stunningly beautiful places you will ever come across in Bolivia and South America.
A surreal vision in the Bolivian Altiplano created by amazing geological formations, geothermal springs and brine lakes.
Covering an area of over 10,000 square km. in the departmentes of Oruro and Potosi (SW Bolivia), Salar de Uyuni is estimated to have a reserve of 10 billion tons of salt.
Some 40,000 years ago the region was covered by the giant salt lake Minchin. At some point the lake dried, leaving behind two small lakes (Poopó and Uri Uri) plus two salt lakes: Coipasa and Uyuni.

This is the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flatland in the world at 4,086 square miles (10,582 kilometers). Every year, this amazing wonderland in southwest Bolivia covers with a thin layer of water. When that happens, it turns into the largest mirror on the planet, as these photos recently taken by Takaki Watanabe show.

The resulting landscape is absolutely surreal, out of a Salvador Dalí painting. I want to go there—¡pronto!

The salar is formed by several preshistoric lakes, which started to transform 30,000 to 42,000 years ago. Covered by several feet of salt, the Salar de Uyuni stays dry most of the year except a few days, when it rains and turns into this wonder.

And while it looks like it must be hell on Earth, it's not hot at all: its temperatures range from a low 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13º C) to 70º F (21º F).

But the most surreal part is the fact that is a major breeding ground for pink flamingos. Can you imagine a flock of thousands of flamingos flying over this perfect mirror? I want to see that one day.

The Red Beach is located in the Liaohe River Delta, about 30 kilometer southwest of Panjin City in China. The beach gets its name from its appearance, which is caused by a type of sea weed that flourishes in the saline-alkali soil. The weed that start growing during April or May remains green during the summer. In autumn, this weed turns flaming red, and the beach looks as if it was covered by an infinite red carpet that creates a rare red sea landscape. Most of the Red Beach is a nature reserve and closed to the public. Only a small, remote, section is open for tourists.

Chinese Name: 盘锦市 (pán jǐn shì)

Population: 1,259,000

Area: 4,084 square kilometers (1,577 square miles)

Nationalities: Han

Administrative Division: 2 districts (Xinglongtai, Shuangtaizi); 2 counties (Dawa, Panshan)

Seat of the City Government: 18, Shifu Jie, Xinglongtai District

                                         
                            

Bank of China Panjin Branch: 116, Xinglongtai Jie, Xinglongtai District
China Post Panjin Branch: 32, Shifu Jie, Xinglongtai District

Location: Panjin City lies in the southwest of Liaoning Province at the central area of the Liaohe River delta. It neighbors Anshan and Jinzhou and is separated from Yingkou by the Liaohe River in the southeast, facing southward to the Liaodong (Eastern Liaoning) Bay of Bohai Sea.        

History: Administrative history of the area can be traced back to 195BC during the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). The Tang Dynasty (618AD-907AD) brought the region back from the Koguryo Kingdom to the regime of Central China. Panshan is the earliest county established in modern Panjin.       

Physical Features: Panjin is situated in the alluvial plain area. Its terrain slopes downward from the north to the south. The land of the city is flat. Paddy field makes up about eighty-five percent of the arable land.               

Climate: Enjoying a warm temperate continental monsoon climate, the city is characterized by four clear seasons, moderate temperature and abundant sunlight. The annual temperature averages around 10℃ (50℉). June, early and mid August are the rainy periods.  The Red Beach refers to the top scenic area of the city in a 100 square kilometers (39 square miles) reed field of Dawa County. The red color comes from a kind of grass that can grow in saline and alkaline soil. Set in the Red Beach and broad reed field, is a wonderful scenic wetland tourist resort area. Furthermore, wooden buildings in archaic style bring more elegance to the scenic area.
Liaohe River Delta contains a very unique piece of landscape, the Red Beach. Not far from Panjin City, China lies a beach that during the summer months looks like any other beach. Beautiful waters and a bit of green sea weed.
Than as the seasons change so does the sea weed. The green sea weed that blankets the entire beach turns red like fire in the autumn. Hence the reason it is called the Red Beach. Most of the beach is a nature reserve; there is however a small portion open to tourists to observe the amazing color and birds that thrive near it.
The sea-blite plant beings growing in late spring around April and May, it starts growing green. Then as the seasons begin to change it becomes a fiery red. The sea-blite plant grows in other areas on the coast but never turns to the beautiful red color. For the most part it is believed the seaweed turns red due to it being alkali tolerant. Some scientists say it is due to the alkaline-saline soil that is there. Other scientists believe it has something to do with all of the wildlife, particularly birds retreat to this great place.
There are 236 different kinds of birds. The inhabitants of this beach also include thirty protected birds. So naturally this one of a kind beach becomes a natural and wildlife reserve. The birds are usually just migrating between, southeast Asia and Australia. Outside of birds you will get to see giant turtles and tortoises and even seals.
Thousands of tourists come every year to see the Red Beach. Walk along its piers and observe all of the flying wildlife that stop in. You can get to the amazing tourist attraction via multiple daily trains that run from Beijing or hop on a long distance bus that makes a regular stop at Panjin. Since the seaweed only changes color when the summer ends be sure you schedule your trip well enough that you get to see the Red Beach at its best. September is when the metamorphoses is in full swing and October and November you can still enjoy the vast flatbed of rose colored curiosity.
There is a wooden bridge that takes your from the land out onto the sea all which is covered in the red vastness. This seems to be a perfect photographic adventure. If you are a photographer you do not want to miss the chance to capture this part of China in all of its greatness.
Some of the closest cities such as Panjin is rich in China history and can be explored for days. The history of China and the upcoming developments are enticing to the tourist.
The Red Beach is a great thing to see in this lifetime and a memory you are not about to forget. Panjin China should most definitely be among the bucket list of travel destinations. There seem to be so many amazing things to see in the world make sure the Red Beach is one of them. Enjoy the vibrant color that is laid across the beach and the water, while the birds swoop down for a treat, and the seals sunbathe, the giant turtles are definitely going to catch your attention and watching the sun set on these beautiful sites will make it all worth it in the end.
The Chinese city of Qingdao made the news when its beaches turned green after spectacular amounts of algae bloomed in its coastal waters, covering 28,900 square kilometers (11,158 square miles) and driving swimmers away with the smell. On the other end of the color spectrum, at Red Beach in Panjin (about 300 miles northeast of Beijing),  a unique variety of alkali-tolerant seaweed will turn from green to a vibrant crimson red in the fall, to the delight of tourists who flock to the wetland.
Red Beach covers approximately 1.4 million acres, but the nature preserve's Technicolor seaweed is not its only tourist attraction: several rare bird species, including the red-crowned crane, are known to pass through Red Beach, located near the mouth of the Liaohe River, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Nine-Zigzag Bridge on the dock is 680m long, supported by 519 wooden poles, spreading from the bank into the sea. The coverage of wooden platform reaches more than 2000 square meters. On the beach are 1998 wooden poles standing out and lying quietly on the waves. Restaurants, galleries and tea houses are dotted in it. As the tide rises and falls, the seldom stunning scenery of ocean comes to one’s sight. Special recreations on the sea offer tourists a totally impressive experience. There are five pleasure boats and yachts respectively, which can occupy over one hundred people at a time. When boating on the sea, visitors not only watch the splendid scene of uncountable birds flying through the sky, but appreciate the Red Beach, its color of red brightening the whole heaven. This grotesque scenery is bestowed by the powerful nature. The waves and sands are the premise of the Red Beach existing. The penetration of alkali and dipping of salt are two necessary conditions of leading to the bright color of the Red Beach. It is still unknown when the Red Beach come into being. Some experts concluded that it exists as the earth and the ocean being. Local people call it ‘Red Grass Beach’ when they depend on it for living. But it is named ‘Red Carpet’ when it is used for recreation.    

No matter what name it is called, the Red Beach is still filled with hot and red, which stand for its passion and hope. The Red Beach is comprised of thousands of saline seepweeds, a kind of grass surviving in the saline and alkaline land. It springs up in April every year, pink firstly and then gradually grows deeper. In October, it turns into purple. There is no need to be seeded and cultivated. But year after year, it grows well. In 60s, a lot of people depended on it to survive. Local people made full use of its seeds, leaves and roots to be food. To pursue the Red Beach is to be in pursuit of enthusiasm and hope of life.
Panjin's Red Beach is famous for its special wildlife. Many rare types of birds can be found in this area, living among the reed beds that front the shoreline. The mud flats are also major bird feeding areas. A special type of red seaweed is found here that gives the area a deep red colour, hence the name. Most of the Red Beach is a nature reserve and closed to the public. Only a small, remote, section is open for tourists. To get there you must come by car or book on a tour bus group. There is no nearby public transportation. The nearest town is Dawa, some 22km away. Within the Red Beach tourist area, wooden walkways have been built out over the mud flats, allowing you to walk out to the sea front and view the scenery and wildlife. There are two other tourist sites nearby: The Crescent Moon Bay Park and the Weihai Guanhe (Sea Bird) Park.
The reserve area is huge and only a small part of it is open to the public. But even then, the public area is quite a considerable size. There are three main parts within the park: The Crescent Moon Bay, Red Beach Walkway, Reed and Canal Boat trip. All of these can be purchased in one ticket.
To get to the park, you can book with a local tourist agent who will take you there and back or else take the D16 Danxi Express way to Dawa town. From here follow the sign posts for about 25km. There is plenty car parking at the gate.
Once inside the gate, you transfer to free electric buses which take you the remaining 8.5km to the beach itself. The buses will also take you first to Crescent Moon Bay, then the Red Beach, then finally to the boat for the return journey through the reeds and canals.
China is renowned for having various touristic places to visit, but if I told you that it has also a red beach that is worth visiting, would you believe me? Well, you have to see it in order to believe it. In NE China there is a marshland that each autumn gets colored in a crimson red shade and for this reason it has gotten the name of Red Beach.
The plants that cover this area (26 km long) are in fact seepweeds that start growing every April in a green color and by autumn season they turn in a crimson red color that makes the place appear as a red beach.
The scenery this marshland offers is incredible and once being there you can take amazing pictures especially if you are lucky to capture as well the presence of migratory birds that bring a spot of different colors to the dominant crimson red.