[sydli]

My father grew up in a neighboring town to Liqian, in Gansu. This is essentially an urban myth of sorts that several locals still believe, though as the article itself points out, it's been proven false a decade ago. In recent years they've constructed several faux monuments and landmarks in a cheesy emulation of Classical architecture in order to attract tourists.

People want to believe it; it's an interesting theory. However, the genetic diversity in this region comes primarily from Yugurs (a Turkic group related to the Uyghurs which converted to Tibetan Buddhism around a thousand years ago) and Mongolians.

[gerdesj]

I'll file it along with "Nessie" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ness_Monster) and King Arthur (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Arthur) amongst others.

Actually when you prod and poke at these myths, inevitably some damn fine archaeology or science or something else that is real and tangible falls out in some way, or some absolutely beautiful scenery is involved. I have a lot of examples and not enough room in this comment to encompass them all.