Xiangshawan is more like a theme park. There are four hotels: Lotus Hotel (Lotus Resort), Shunsha Holiday Island (Whistling Dune Bay), Fusha Holiday Island, and Yilisha Resort, plus Yue Sha Island Tent Camp, which is not considered a hotel. Among them, Yilisha Resort is not located in the desert, so this hotel is basically not my consideration.
Shunsha Holiday Island is right next to Fusha Holiday Island. At night, the lights are very bright. Compared with the design of Fusha Holiday Island, Shunsha is certainly more upscale. The price is also relatively more expensive.
It’s more straightforward to just say “hotel” rather than “island,” because it isn’t actually an island—just a hotel building developed to look like one.
In terms of price, Fusha Holiday Island offers better value for money. The other two hotels are more expensive, but their designs are more attractive and more food varaities. For me, I simply wanted to experience the feeling of staying in the desert, so I ultimately chose Fusha Holiday Island.
*At check‑in, each guest is given a paper wristband that must be worn throughout the stay.
The hotel package already includes: breakfast, lunch, and dinner; free use of hotel facilities; camel rides between Xiansha Island and Yuesha Island (2 times); and fast‑lane access in theme park (though only for most facilities, not all). Many locals also go there to play. If you follow the regular queue, the wait is usually over an hour.
Transportation
High speed railway to Baotou (包頭) station or Baotou East (包頭東) station. Transit by didi or by hotel transport bus to XiangShaWan. (Need to book with hotel staff before hand)
Room
Two choices: one bed or two single beds. The two‑bed option is more expensive. The room provides six bottles of water, which should be enough for you to take along when going out to play. You can always return to the front desk to get more.
Meals
Meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are already included upon booking. If you only stay for one night, the hotel staff will ask whether you want lunch on the first day or the second day. Lunch and dinner are served at the same place, while breakfast is at another restaurant, which is shared with Shunsha Holiday Island. That restaurant offers a wider variety of food, since guests there pay a higher room rate.
Breakfast: 7.30am – 10am ，Lunch: 12:00pm – 2.30pm ，Dinner: 6.30pm – 9.00pm
Hotel Facility
In the middle of the hotel there is a large swimming pool, but nothing particularly special. The real highlight of swimming in the desert is actually at Yuesha Island.
The room package also includes free drinks (9:00 am – 11:30 pm), with alcoholic beverages available in the evenings (7:00 pm – 11:30 pm). Not many choices, and some of the drinks don’t taste good. The cocktails are mostly just visually appealing for photos. I saw quite a few people take the “Blue” cocktail and then leave it on the table. It’s safest to just go for bottles of beer.
But the coffee is better than the breakfast’s one. Bring it to breakfast rather than use that coffee machine at the restaurant.
The hotel also offers scheduled workshops and sand‑sliding activities, all free of charge. These activities start in the morning and end at 5:30 pm (each workshop and activity got a particular timeslot). Inside the theme park, however, you need to pay separately—for example, buying a sand‑sliding board costs RMB 20. A number of people throw theirs when leaving or resell them along the way.
After dinner, there is an evening party, ends with about one minute of fireworks. The fireworks… nothing special. Especially after seeing fireworks at the grasslands, these ones are basically not worth watching.
Theme park
They are located separately on Xiansha (Leisure) Island and Yuesha (Leisure) Island. The routes are provided below for reference.
Xiansha Island offers desert‑related activities, while Yuesha Island features a water park. Both places also have performances happening at the same time. If you are staying for 2D1N, it’s impossible to play both area—you need to choose one to enjoy the best view. The only way to reach either island is by riding a camel. Otherwise, you would have to return by shuttle car and transfer to another vehicle to get to the other island.
Xiansha Island (仙沙島)
I didn’t specifically walk through the entire Xiansha Island, as I arrived too late and didn’t have enough time. Quite a few activities require payment, such as go‑karting. There is a high spot for sand‑sliding
The only desert with KFC
Most of the staff are Mongolian race. Not all Mongolians can speak or understand Mandarin. The younger generation generally can, but the older generation don’t speak fluent Mandrain. At their age, learning Mandarin is rather difficult. If needed, it’s best to use a translation app.
Yuesha Island (悅沙島)
The giant water park is really fun. If you only have 2D1N, I think playing here is better than going to Xiansha Island. Best place for images and enjoy water in the desert. If you bring your own sand‑sliding board, you can also slide on the sand. If you want to play in the water, you’ll need to bring your own towel.
Check out the Inner Mongolia XiangShaWan Video in IG profile or Facebook page.
Route
Entrance check‑in → walk to take the cable car → after getting off the cable car , there are different vehicles going to the hotel / Xiansha Island / Yuesha Island.
From the hotel to the tourist area, if you want to visit both places:
1) Hotel → transit back to cable car station → Xiansha Island → ride camel → Yuesha Island → take the small train* back to the cable car → transit to another car back to the hotel.
*The small train does not have a fast‑track option; you must queue. Unless it rains heavily, in which case vehicles will be specially arranged to take guests back to the cable car station.
If you don’t ride a camel, the only option is to return to the cable car station by vehicle and then transit to another vehicle to reach the other island.
That’s why, it’s suggested to just go Yuesha Island to play.
Conclusion
The place is too large, and the transportation time back and forth is very long, leaving little actual experience. It’s promoted as the “Maldives of the Desert,” but the room prices are even higher than some Maldives resorts, while failing to deliver the kind of experience the real Maldives offers.
Hotel guests can use the fast‑track line, but not for the train. Traveling from the hotel to the main island requires too many vehicle transfers, wasting a lot of time. It would be better if there were a dedicated route for hotel guests, or rent a vehicle like golf‑cart‑style Jeeps.
The food variety is decent, with some local Mongolian dishes, but drinks are limited. The orange juice tastes like water with just a little orange taste. The “all‑you‑can‑drink” options mostly taste like water. They should also provide local Mongolian drinks, such as milk tea.
The only best moment I experience is looking at animals and take photos with them. A very funny moment was when I walked past a group of sheep—they all stared at me silently. When I got closer, they even came over to let me touch their heads and horns. You can also feed camels for free.
Just walking from check‑in to the cable car already takes more than 10 minutes. You really need to plan ahead, otherwise a lot of time will be wasted on transportation. Simply going from Xiansha Island to the camel‑riding area takes 10–20 minutes. Traveling back and forth to the hotel also takes time, and going back to the room before heading out again adds even more. Too much time is wasted on the journeys.
2 Days 1 Night Suggestion
It’s recommended to arrive for check‑in no later than 9:00 am. After lunch, head straight to Yuesha Island and return around 5:00 pm. The next day, stay at hotel and join the workshops.
When we drove to the parking lot, it was already around 12:30 pm. From the check‑in counter to the restaurant took about an hour, so by the time we finished lunch it was already past 2:00 pm. We reached Yuesha Island after 4:00 pm, and it was getting dark—the staff started telling people to head back. Basically, we didn’t get to play much. Fortunately, the next morning at the hotel we at least managed to do some sand‑sliding.
Personally, I think if you plan to stay for two days and one night, you must arrive early in the morning. Later I realized that if you only want to experience the desert, you don’t really need to stay here—there are other places in Inner Mongolia where you can see the desert. But at the time, I really wanted to feel what it’s like to stay in the desert. That night I went out alone intending to photograph star trails. It was pitch‑black outside, you really couldn’t see anything. In the end, I felt the value for money wasn’t great—it’s still more fun in the real Maldives.
How to Book/Purchase
Trip.com offers all the above hotel available. If you are bringing kids, you need to ensure the package include kids in it. Or simply purchase the kids package at the counter.
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Other related article：
-> Inner Mongolia Guide
