'Secret rocket' spotted hidden deep in the desert on Google Maps

People think they've spotted a "secret rocket" hidden deep in the desert on Google Maps.

According to Daily Star, the unusual find was shared on the Reddit page r/GoogleMap, which showed a structure that looked similar to a rocket in China's Taklamakan desert.

The site is in Qiemo County, Xinjiang, and with the coordinates, there are similar sites located next to industrial buildings near the centre of the desert.

It is the second-largest shifting sand desert in the world. It spans 337,000sq km (130,000sq mi) and has dunes that can reach 18m (60ft).

One person shared the photo on Reddit with the caption: "[Is] that a rocket?

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Someone else also shared an article from China Power that outlined China's missile forces, which suggests that there is at least one Rocket Force brigade within the desert.

"China's land-based conventional missile capabilities have developed significantly over the last several years. According to the US Department of Defense (DoD), China's missile forces in 2000 "were generally of short range and modest accuracy," the article read.

It continued: "The PLA Rocket Force, which maintains and operates China's land-based conventional and nuclear missiles, has fielded multiple new missile systems over the last several years."

Despite this, not everyone was convinced that the structure is a concealed Chinese military site.

"I don't think it's a rocket. There are no big enough road/rail in and out of the 'launch pad,'" another person wrote.

Others also agreed with this theory, with one believing that its towers for oil and gas.

"There's a ton of these things in the area. Maybe oil/gas wells?" another added, while a third simply wrote," Oil area."

According to a CGTN report, Petro China's Tarim Oil Field Company was the first company to discover oil and water in the centre of the Taklamakan desert.

As a result, the company created some energy projects and more than 300 people work and live in the "manmade oasis," and the fields have things such as "a gym, stadium and karaoke house" to help the workers not feel as desolate.

"It also benefits the locals, providing natural gas and electricity to the area," they wrote.

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