Hulsan[1][2][3] or Hollusun Nor[4] is a romanization of the Mongolian name meaning "Reed Lake", from their former abundance in the area.

[5] Huoluxun and Huobuxun[a] are the pinyin romanizations of the Mandarin pronunciation of the same name's transcriptions into Chinese characters.

[10] North Hulsan Lake is chiefly fed from the east by the Qaidam River[11][7] (t 柴達木河, s 柴达木河, Cháidámù Hé).

[2] An inflow from the north by mineral springs in the playa's northern karst zone contribute a smaller volume of water[2] but its much higher solute concentration greatly affects the lake and its sediments.

[16] Fang & al. found it had lost 8.1 Gt (8.9 billion short tons) of water between 1995 and 2015,[17] and Zhou & al. reported that the lake proper could not be distinguished at all from the surrounding salt pans in satellite imagery as of 2014.