Here's an interesting story off of a China travel and tourism site.

It discusses the shrinking of a lake in Gansu province to the northwest. For a map, see Dunhuang, Gansu province.


http://www.travel-china.net/crescent-moon-spring.html
Crescent Moon Spring

The Crescent Moon Spring is located five kilometers south of the city of Dunhuang, Gansu Province. It is as well-known as the Mogao Grottoes, Sanwei Mountain, and Mingsha Mountains: all scenic areas in Dunhuang. For thousands of years, the Crescent Moon Spring has coexisted with the desert, without being buried, and has become one of nature’s wonders. But since the 1960s, the Crescent Moon Spring has been shrinking and the water level has dropped substantially for several reasons. For instance,the affect of the surrounding environment has been deteriorating; the level of groundwater has decreased; and the waters have been buried in sand. These events have gained widespread attention.

In recent years, Dunhuang City has adopted several measures to protect the Crescent Moon Spring’s local ecological environment. The city has banned land reclamation for cultivation; prohibited the drilling of wells; and developed highly efficient water-saving agriculture. These measures have achieved certain results, but still did not prevent the Crescent Moon Spring’s water level from dropping year by year.