Badain Jaran Desert between the dunes, some of which are fresh water while others are extremely saline. These lakes give the desert its name which is Mongolian for "mysterious lakes". It is also crossed by one river, the Ruo Shui ("weak water"), which has formed an alluvial plain in the desert. Measuring over , the Badain Jaran Desert covers a significant part of the south-central part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as well as the North part of Gansu province. Located in the Alxa Plateau at about 1200 meters above sea level it is listed as a subsection to the Gobi Desert.
The Battle of China and less often as "Nips"—blockading and occupation of China's ports is discussed and the rebuilding of China's destroyed rail system called the work of "slave labor". "New China"—here used to reference the Republican government-in-exile in Chongqing—is shown as connected to the outside world only through the "narrow-gauge" Indo-Chinese railway and the "camel caravans" from Russia across the Gobi Desert. (The railway is described as "limited" and "too near Jap territory to be safe", with French compliance in closing the line for Japan omitted.) The construction of the Burma Road between Lashio in Burma and the truck road to Kunming is