From the 2nd century BC to the 18th century, caravans of Bactrian camels connected the Far East to Europe via northeast China and Central Asia’s desolate mountain passes and high-altitude deserts. Today the traders have largely been replaced by tourists.

Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring is a popular tourist location on the edge of the Gobi Desert. It is located near Dunhuang City, Gansu province, in China. One of its specialities is providing – as far as possible – authentic and spectacular desert experiences for tourists. One of these is camel-riding tours: they are a big attraction for visitors who are encouraged to imagine themselves as ancient travellers on the Silk Road. Another is simply walking amongst the sand-dunes of the Gobi.

There was a problem. The area was, perhaps, a little too successful. Tour organisers were encountering regular traffic chaos where the camel trails intersected with pedestrian walkways. Farmers with camels also crossed the area. Camel collisions were reported.

As a solution, workers cut gaps in the paved routes for the camel caravans to pass and installed special traffic lights: the system went live in April 2021. The signals show the traditional green and red pedestrian images; but they also display the distinctive image of the local, two-humped Bactrian camel. Visitors to the Mingsha site are now safe from camel collisions; and the traffic lights have become an attraction themselves, with tourists stopping to photograph them.

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