Northwest China's Gansu Province, spreading some 1600 kilometers across the Huangtu Plateau (The Loess Plateau), used to be an important passage along the Ancient Tea Horse Road. Today, its rigid yet majestic landscape still attracts numerous visitors who come in search of its historical relics and natural vistas. These photos taken recently by a local photographer show the Gobi Desert and sand dunes on the plateau covered by a thin layer of snow.