Conservationists in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have devoted decades of dedication to build a green belt encircling the Taklimakan Desert in the region, gradually turning the barren desert into a treasure of forests, farm produce and tourism resources.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. To highlight the region's transformation across industry, culture, ecology, and livelihoods. China Global Television Network released a special series, "Xinjiang in 70 Years: Progress and Prosperity"
The first episode focuses on Makit County in Xinjiang's Kashi region, which sits on the southwestern edge of the Taklamakan, the world's second-largest shifting sand desert.
To fight for land for survival, Makit launched a massive desert control campaign. Nearly all of the county's 300,000 residents took part, building roads, digging wells, laying power lines, and planting trees - all at once.
Yin Honghai, who was assigned to work as an agricultural official in the county in 2005, stressed that residents persevered through numerous challenges to complete the project.
"That was our most difficult time. We didn't eat well, didn't drink well. We drank water directly from the wells we dug, unaware that the mineral content was too high. We had no such awareness at all. We were just determined to complete this task," said Yin, who is now the Party secretary of Makit County Desertification Control Center.
The team used a layered approach to stop the sand’s spread. Along the edges, they planted poplars, which require lots of water but grow fast and tall.
Inside the belt, they strove to find plants that could survive in the various land conditions, placing them in a checkerboard grid to lock the sand in place. In low, salty grounds, they planted silverberry, a tough plant that could thrive there. On the higher, drier dunes, they plant saxaul, a native desert tree that survives on very little water. The presence of these drought-resistant plants has not only anchored the sand but also transformed the structure of the soil.
In 13 years, Makit has built more than 30,000 hectares of shelterbelt forest along the edge of the desert. The accomplishment marks the completion of just a small stretch of a large national undertaking. In nearly half a decade, China has built a "Green Great Wall” along the edge of the Takalimakan, stretching more than 3,000 kilometers.
The belt is more than an ecological shield that has opened cross-desert highways, safeguarded farms, and boosted tourism.
"Now, we have around 2,000 tourists a day. More than 95 percent of them come from China's inland regions. Our employment situation is quite ideal, too," said Mamatrixat Huji, Party secretary of the Makit County Dolan Culture and Tourism Investment Company.
"In my imagination, deserts have no grass. But here, there is grass. And there are trees," said a tourist.
Hundreds of villagers now live inside the desert forest, working as rangers and building a better life for themselves.
Xinjiang conservationists devote decades of dedication to turn desert into oasis
