In the middle of the Gobi desert, the Chinese are up to something. Or perhaps aliens are up to something. Or, I guess, some image-manipulating troublemakers are up to something.

Either way, there are some incredibly mysterious structures in the area that have been captured by Google Earth. From concentric circles to grids to irregular metallic-looking patterns, the Chinese desert looks to be hiding some sort of secret on the border of the Gansu province, near Jiuquan.

Let’s go ahead and get to the evidence. First, we have this pattern, that appears to consist of pathways with a metallic origin. According to Google Maps, it’s at least 5000 feet long and 2500 feet wide.

Here are some thoughts from the internet, more specifically reddit, on the possible purpose of this irregular grid:

• Street map of a U.S. city – possibly Washington D.C.
• A grid for Chinese spy satellites
• An alien QR code

In a similar vein, here’s another irregular grid spotted in the Gobi desert. According to Google Maps, it’s a little under a square mile.

Here’s we have a Stonehenge-like set of concentric circles. In the center, there appears to be three planes.

Then we have these two structures, both resembling runways – but one is an almost glowing metallic blue color:

Nearby, here are some metallic looking squares arranged in a grid, many of which appear to have been destroyed:

What does this all mean? What could all of these structures signify? According to the Telegraph, it’s most likely part of China’s space program and/or military testing.

The two reflective rectangles lie 70 miles from the nearest main road and there is no sign of any surrounding activity. However, Ding Xin military airbase, where China carries out its secret aircraft testing programme, is relatively nearby, at a distance of some 400 miles.

400 miles in the other direction is Lop Nur, the salt lakes where China tested 45 nuclear bombs between 1967 and 1995.

The planes with the concentric circles, and the destroyed grids sure seem to scream target practice. As far as the irregular grids are concerned, could they be “optical test ranges for missiles?” And could they resemble street grids? The fact that all of these mysterious structures are relatively close to each other suggest that it could be some sort of giant test site:

There’s enough visual evidence here to satisfy conspiracy theorists and/or alien hunters for weeks. Is it the Chinese military? Is it visitors from outer space? Is it a clever artist who has overlain the patterns and trolled everyone? Discuss.