- A massive sandstorm swept through China's Qinghai province on July 20.
- Footage shows a giant wall of sand roaring down a highway as motorists try to outrun it.
- State media said the sands whipped through Qinghai at speeds of up to 48 feet per second.
Footage has emerged online of a sandstorm that barreled through a northwestern Chinese province last week, with several videos showing a massive wall of sand chasing down fleeing motorists.
The sandstorm hit the Qinghai province's Haixi region on July 20, according to state broadcaster CCTV-2.
—T-Global (@decameronshow) July 21, 2022
One video posted on Twitter showed motorists speeding down a highway to escape an oncoming wall of sand.
—NoComment (@nocomment) July 25, 2022
According to CCTV-2, the storm whipped sand through the province at speeds of up to 48.8 feet per second, or around 33 miles per hour. Visibility was also reduced to about 600 feet, the broadcaster reported.
Chinese outlet The Paper released footage of a city in Haixi being swallowed up by the sandstorm at around 7 p.m., citing one resident who said the area hadn't seen a dust storm of such severity in the last two years.
Meanwhile, state media outlet CGTN tweeted videos of a darkened sky as the sandstorm engulfed city streets.
—Zhang Meifang张美芳 (@CGMeifangZhang) July 23, 2022
At Emerald Lake, a tourist attraction in the town of Dachaidan, visitors were seen trying to escape in shuttle vehicles as the sandstorm approached.
attempts to evade the oncoming sandstorm in Qinghai.Teng Hongliang/VCG via Getty Images
State broadcasters did not say if anyone was hurt by the freak weather event.
Qinghai province, mainly located over the Tibetan Plateau, borders China's Xinjiang and Tibet regions.
The sandstorm activity subsided in the province by July 22, CCTV-2 reported.