Skirting the edges of the harsh and inhospitable Taklimakan desert, the Silk Road actually had several different branches, each passing through different oases.

丝绸之路其实有数条支线，它们分别沿着环境恶劣、不适合人类居住的塔克拉玛干沙漠外缘，穿越不同的绿洲。

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Surrounded by desert ridges interspersed with lush oases, the Dead Sea presents a visually stunning tableau.

周围是沙漠的山脊，点缀着郁郁葱葱的绿洲，从视觉来说，死海景象极为壮观。

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"We all admire the beaver for the way it can turn a linear river into a lake with a dam, but the termites turning the desert into a pattern of oases that allow permanent life even in drought periods for hundreds of years - that's much more fascinating, " he told BBC News.

BBC: Termites 'engineer fairy circles'