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Sand samples deposited since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) from the Hulun Buir, Horqin and Otindag sandlands were measured for their assemblages of heavy minerals and chemical compositions of detrital garnets and tourmalines. Heavy mineral assemblages of these three sandlands consist mainly of garnet, ilmenite, epidote and minor amphibole and magnetite. Garnets consist mainly of high Mg type-A ones (58% on average), and minor type-B ones. Toumalines are mainly composed of Mg-rich and minor Fe-rich ones. Compared with those of central-southern Mongolia and central Tarim, these three sandlands are derived from the Phanerozoic rocks of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and the Archean and Paleoprotorozoic basement rocks of the North China Craton. Our results provide direct evidence that the present-day sands may be reworked from LGM ones. Differences of heavy mineral compositions occur between the samples of the three sandlands and Taklimakan Desert, indicating that the material of the western arid regions contributes little to the eastern sandlands.