"Hot sand therapy", a specialty in Turpan City in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is proving popular with tourists who claim being buried gradually in hot sand brings a myriad of health benefits.
With temperatures in Turpan City soaring above 42 degrees celsius, the sand therapy season is in full swing.
At the sand therapy center at the Uyghur Medical Hospital in Turpan, tourists dressed in light clothing carefully lie down in excavated sand pits and gradually cover their bodies with hot sand, leaving only their heads and hands exposed.
The claim is that this protects the body from some diseases thanks to the combination of heat, arid conditions, the sun's rays, and minerals from the sand.
"As soon as I lay down, I felt it was extremely hot. After about 10 minutes of being buried, I started to sweat slightly, but my body felt fine overall and was quite comfortable," said a tourist.
Tourists seeking sand therapy are also supporting local hospitality businesses, spreading the benefit of this unusual summer activity.
"Hot sand therapy" draws tourists to Xinjiang
"Hot sand therapy" draws tourists to Xinjiang
