The Taklamakan Desert /ˌtæk.lə.məˈkæn/ (Chinese: 塔克拉玛干沙漠 Tǎkèlāmǎgān Shāmò, Xiao'erjing: تَاكْلامَاقًا شَاموْ; Uyghur: تەكلىماكان قۇملۇقى; Dungan: Такəламаган Шамə), also spelled "Taklimakan" and "Teklimakan", is a desert in southwest Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, northwest China. It is bounded by the Kunlun Mountains to the south, the Pamir Mountains and Tian Shan (ancient Mount Imeon) to the west and north, and the Gobi Desert to the east.
The name may be an Uyghur borrowing of the Persian tark, "to leave alone/out/behind, relinquish, abandon" + makan, "place".[1][2]Some sources claimed it means "Place of No Return", more commonly interpreted as "once you get in, you'll never get out" or similar.[3][4][5] Another plausible explanation suggests it is derived from Turki taqlar makan, describing "the place of ruins".
