A university teacher has been found alive after he was missing for one day and two nights while conducting field research in an uninhabited area in northwestern China, CCTV News reported.

At 7:39 pm on Saturday, Lin Xiubin from the Geology Department of School of Earth Sciences Zhejiang University lost contact with other members of a research team after completing his fieldwork in Lenghu town in Qinghai province.

Sitting on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, Lenghu, meaning "cold lake", was one of the four largest oil sites in the country. It was deserted when the oil reserves dried up in 1960s. Last year, with the launch of a major observatory program to revitalize the old town into a world-class site for stargazing, it began to become a place for scientific research, sci-fi culture and tourism, as it is considered to be one of the world's best astronomical sites.

With an average attitude of 2,800 meters, the Yadan landform-featured place is cold, windy and extremely dry. The temperature difference here between day and night can reach over 50 C, with the direct sunlight in the daytime causing the surface temperature to be at least 40 C, adding risks of dehydration. But at night, the temperature can plummet to -10 C.

To find Lin as soon as possible, local governments sent 15 research-and-rescue forces from various departments to the site. As of 9 pm Saturday night, over 90 people and 25 vehicles as well as drones were put into the rescue.

At 6:58 am on Monday morning, Lin was rescued and his vital signs are now stable.