Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in north China completed on Sunday sand-blocking barriers encircling three major deserts in its Alxa League region, setting a major milestone in the country's decades-long battle against desertification.
The final section of straw checkerboards, a traditional sand-fixing method, was completed Sunday morning on the southeastern edge of the Badain Jaran Desert. With this, a green belt stretching 1,856 kilometers has fully enclosed the Badain Jaran Desert, the Ulan Buh Desert, and the Tengger Desert in Alxa League, which will halt the further sand encroachment.
The sand-fixing method of straw checkerboards involves planting straw in a checkerboard pattern on the desert surface to stabilize sand and prevent wind erosion. Known as desert edge-locking project, this approach was designed to fix shifting dunes by planting vegetation belts along the desert's perimeter, preventing further encroachment.
The Alxa League spans 270,000 square kilometers, with nearly 74 percent of its land classified as desertified. The three deserts together cover over 94,700 square kilometers, more than one-third of the region's total area and over 80 percent of Inner Mongolia's desert land.
Through years' efforts on sand control, local authorities constructed 1,425 kilometers of green barriers along the rim of three deserts at the end of last year. This year, authorities decided to close the final 431-kilometer gap in the sand-blocking belt through both manual and mechanical sand-fixing techniques.
By combining sand control with new energy development, the region has implemented aerial seeding and enclosed ecological restoration tailored to different land types, aiming to boost the survival rate of vegetation in the green belt.
Currently, over 50 percent of sand control operations in Alxa are mechanized, and eight solar-powered sand-control projects have been completed.
Alxa also plans to consolidate its sand-control result and develop desert-based industries such as eco-tourism and renewable energy to promote both environmental and economic resilience.
China completes sand-blocking barriers encircling three major deserts in Inner Mongolia
