A Green Saga at the Desert’s Edge: Field Research on Desertification Control in the Taklamakan

The Taklamakan Desert is China’s largest and the world's second-largest shifting desert. Desertification prevention and control here is considered the hardest of the hard nuts in the Three-North Shelterbelt Forestry Program. On November 28, 2024, with the planting of the final rose sapling on the desert’s southern edge, a 3,046-kilometer green protective belt was completed, encircling all 340,000 square kilometers of sand. This has created the world’s longest ecological security barrier around a desert, stretching approximately three times the straight-line distance between Beijing and Shanghai. The successful “edge-locking” of the Taklamakan Desert marks a landmark intermediate victory in one of the three signature battles under the Three-North Shelterbelt Forestry Program: the operation to halt desertification along the Hexi Corridor and the fringe of the Taklamakan Desert.

I. The path to “locking the edge”

Situated in the Tarim Basin of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China's northwest, the Taklamakan Desert has long been steeped in the glow of civilization. Zhang Qian’s westward journey in the 2nd century BC and Marco Polo's eastward travel in the 13th century both left their marks here. Yet beneath this glow, this land also harbors the latent threats of nature. For thousands of years, shifting sands have relentlessly crept forward, swallowing once-flourishing oases. Meanwhile, the stretch along the Hexi Corridor and the fringe of the Taklamakan Desert is home to two-thirds of China’s sandstorms. Fierce winds whip up immense clouds of sand and dust, sometimes forming “sand walls” tens of meters high that blot out the sun. The advancing sands have forced residents into retreat. Qira County in Hotan Prefecture has had to relocate three times due to relentless sand intrusion, with the encroaching dunes once pressing to within just 1.5 kilometers of the county seat.

For survival and development, people along the edge of this vast desert have been locked in an unrelenting struggle against the sands.

Shortly after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, experimental stations for desertification prevention and control were established in places such as Kashgar and Hotan to study the desert’s characteristics and seek viable solutions for its management. In 1978, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council made a strategic decision to build large-scale shelterbelt forests in key regions of Northwest, North, and Northeast China that were affected by sandstorms and soil erosion. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have battled the advancing Taklamakan Desert, effectively curbing its expansion.

Since the advent of the new era in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has made strengthening comprehensive desertification prevention and control, together with advancing major ecological projects such as the Three-North Shelterbelt Forestry Program, a noble cause vital to China’s ecological security as well as its endeavors to build a great country and ensure sustainable national development. The CPC Central Committee has called for building the Three-North Shelterbelt into a fully functional and impregnable ecological security barrier, a veritable “green great wall” across northern China. The areas surrounding the Taklamakan Desert have been designated as a national priority for desertification prevention and control, where related efforts continue to advance steadily.

In June 2023, when presiding over a meeting on strengthening comprehensive desertification control and advancing key ecological projects such as the Three-North Shelterbelt Forestry Program, President Xi Jinping stressed the need for concerted efforts to fight desert encroachment along the Hexi Corridor and the fringe of the Taklamakan Desert. At the time, a 285-kilometer gap remained in the green protective belt surrounding the desert. Across more than 500 days and nights, the work of over 600,000 pairs of hands finally filled the gap, weaving it into a continuous ribbon of greenery.

Over the past 40-plus years, Xinjiang has planted and maintained a total of 1.6 million hectares of forest. The area of man-made oases has increased from 59,600 square kilometers in 1990 to 104,500 square kilometers in 2024. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, more than 42,000 square kilometers of desertified land have been restored. In 2019, Xinjiang saw its desertified area shrink for the first time, putting an end to its status as the only province-level region in China where desertified land continued to spread. This achievement signified a simultaneous reduction in both desert area and sandy land.

II. How to “lock the edge?” 

Viewed through satellite imagery, the Taklamakan Desert’s vast “edge-locking” project resembles a green outline sketched around a golden sea of sand. Yet what seems simple from above has proven extremely difficult to create on the ground.

The world’s longest ecological security barrier around a desert was completed in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on November 28, 2024. The 3,046-kilometer green protective belt serves as a “green scarf” that wraps around the perimeter of the Taklamakan, effectively locking the edges of China’s largest desert and the world’s second-largest mobile desert.

Top: A diagram illustrating the “edge-locking” project in the Taklamakan Desert. XINJIANG DAILY / IMAGE DESIGNED BY ZHANG YONG AND MIAO RONG

Bottom: The Tiandong Demonstration Area for Comprehensive Desert Prevention and Control in Yutian County on the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, June 15, 2024. PHOTO BY XINHUA REPORTER DING LEI

The first challenge lies in the sheer scale of the project. The Taklamakan Desert spans an area twice the size of Henan Province and three times that of Zhejiang Province. Building a green shelter-belt around such an expanse is undoubtedly a colossal undertaking. The second challenge lies in the desert’s high mobility. Over 70% of the Taklamakan is made up of shifting sand, with dunes rising as high as 300 meters, comparable to the height of a skyscraper. When winds blow at gale force, dunes can race forward at speeds of 60 to 70 kilometers per hour, easily reactivating the sand and causing encroachment into surrounding areas. The third challenge is the harsh natural conditions. The climate here is extremely arid, with average annual precipitation under 100 millimeters and evaporation reaching 2,500 to 3,400 millimeters. Ground temperatures in summer can soar to 60 or even 70 degrees Celsius. Severe soil salinization further hampers the survival of vegetation. The fourth challenge is the lack of infrastructure. Along the desert’s edge, water and power supplies are scarce and transportation links are poor, making large-scale construction extremely challenging.

Wherever the bottlenecks lay, efforts were focused there.

Pursuing a multi-pronged strategy that integrates engineering, biological, and technological measures

How do you stop shifting dunes in their tracks? Engineering interventions must lead the charge. Sand barriers made of straw or nylon nets stretch across the landscape, resembling a vast chessboard where humanity faces off against the desert. These barriers increase surface roughness, weaken wind power, and intercept sand particles, a masterstroke of using stillness to conquer motion. 

How can plants survive and flourish in such harsh conditions? On this front, biological solutions hold the key. Through successive nationwide voluntary tree-planting and greening campaigns, sand control experts have continued to discover and refine methods for planting and protecting greenery. Guided by the principle that greenery is determined by water availability, they select trees, shrubs, and grasses suited to local conditions, and plant them at optimal times using proven methods, enabling life to take root, grow, and flourish in the desert. 

How can shortages of resources such as water and electricity be overcome to improve the effectiveness of desertification control? This is where technological solutions come into play. Photovoltaic desertification control—a technique vividly described as “planting the sun” in the desert—harnesses abundant sunlight. Photovoltaic panels generate electricity to power water pumps and drip irrigation systems, nourishing nearby vegetation. Beneath the panels, straw checkerboard barriers lock down the sand and slow the wind. 

In addition, techniques such as desalination of brackish groundwater, water recycling and purification, and smart drip irrigation ensure efficient resource use. Together they create a virtuous cycle of sunlight, electricity, water, and greenery, significantly boosting the effectiveness of desertification control efforts.

Taking targeted action tailored to local conditions 

Across the Taklamakan Desert, sources of sand, as well as the meteorological and hydrological conditions, vary from place to place. To address these variations, different control approaches have been adopted on five fronts: “locking the south, expanding the east, reinforcing the north, protecting the west, and blocking the center.” 

On the southern edge, where the desert presses against the Kunlun Mountains, the winds are strong, and the risk of desertification is extremely high. The focus here is on “locking the edge” to protect the ecological security of oases along this frontier. To the east, efforts have concentrated on widening the green corridor that separates the Taklamakan and the Kuruk Desert. On the northern edge, the Tarim River, China’s longest inland waterway, winds its way across the landscape, nourishing nearly 1.13 million hectares of natural Populus euphratica (Euphrates poplar) forests along its banks. The priority here is to protect and restore these riparian forests and reinforce the forest shelterbelts and grassland barriers. To the west, where farmlands and orchards are more widely distributed, the focus is on strengthening protection for these lands. In the depth of the desert, four highways stretch out like giant dragons over waves of undulating dunes. The Hotan, Keriya, and other rivers also wind through the terrain like jade ribbons. Here, the main task is to halt drifting sands and restore vegetation, so as to shield these roads and rivers from sand encroachment.

Achieving green development and prosperity by both controlling and harnessing the desert 

The 39th parallel north cutting across the Taklamakan Desert is an iconic route for explorers. Once known as the “land you could enter but never leave” due to its high risks and extreme challenges, it has now become a popular destination for tourists seeking desert adventures and the beauty of life. The scenic area provides regular employment for over 100 residents from three nearby villages, while others earn their living by raising camels or running farm stays. Beyond tourism, sustainable forestry management has turned forests into “treasure troves,” creating a vital pathway to prosperity. 

In Arixi Village of Qira County, sand dunes have been turned into jujube groves, creating a red date industry that encompasses planting, processing, and sales. The village’s annual per capita income has risen from just over 2,000 yuan in 2009 to over 20,000 yuan in 2024. Another promising pathway is the development of desert-plant industries. A striking example is the cultivation of Cistanche, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb dubbed the “ginseng of the desert,” which parasitizes the roots of Haloxylon or Tamarix. Over the past decade, Shaya County has planted over 18,000 hectares of shelter forests with these trees to shield against wind and stabilize sand, while also providing hosts for Cistanche. To date, more than 7,300 hectares have been inoculated with Cistanche, and the output value is expected to exceed 100 million yuan this year.

Adopting innovative mechanisms and making coordinated efforts 

Along the thousand-mile perimeter of the Taklamakan Desert, swathes of yellow sand have been transformed into lush expanses of green, with inspiring stories of prosperity rising from the sands. None of this would have been possible without a well-conceived and efficient desertification control system operating across multiple levels: the autonomous regional government makes overall planning; its various departments coordinate their actions; people at prefectural and county levels carry out concrete measures; the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps works in concert with local governments; and the broad public actively participates. 

A headquarters has been established at the autonomous regional level for both the Three-North Shelterbelt Forestry Program and the campaign to secure the fringe of the Taklamakan Desert, bringing together all personnel and resources, such as water, land, and electricity, under a unified plan. Multiple departments—from development and reform to forestry and grassland, water resources, and power supply—have worked together to ensure that funds and technologies are allocated along with related projects and flow directly to desert areas. Around the desert's perimeter, localities have set aside administrative boundaries to jointly designate management units. The Corps, regiments have signed joint management agreements with local townships to work together on planting forests and patrolling roads. Meanwhile, reforms under a “household land rights plus cooperative operations” model have been rolled out. Under these reforms, use rights for sandy land are allocated to individual households, while cooperatives provide unified technical support and marketing services. Farmers join cooperatives by contributing land or labor, and receive dividends at year's end. This model has transformed desertification control from a mandated task into a self-motivated endeavor.

III. How to keep the green saga alive?

The greening of the Taklamakan Desert stands as a powerful testament to China's desertification control efforts. It is also a vivid example of Xi Jinping thought on ecological conservation in action. At present, China's efforts to combat desertification and rehabilitate desertified land are on a positive trajectory, with the pace of improvement accelerating. Remarkable achievements have been made, drawing global attention. 

Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that desertification prevention and control in China remains a long-term and arduous undertaking. President Xi Jinping has described this process as an uphill task, stressing that “even the slightest relaxation will lead to setbacks.” How can we ensure sustained momentum for this uphill battle? How can we keep this green saga alive?

The “green scarf ” should be thickened to consolidate and enhance progress

While the Taklamakan Desert has indeed been wrapped in a “green scarf,” this verdant barrier remains fragile, still at the early stages of relying on sand barriers and vegetation to hold shifting sands in place. With the rollout and implementation of the Sixth Phase Plan for the Three-North, Shelterbelt Forestry Program in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region this year, desert control in the Taklamakan has moved beyond simply “locking the edge” to a new stage of expanding the surrounding green belt. People in areas around the desert are now shifting their focus toward increasing vegetation coverage, in a bid to consolidate and build on existing gains. 

Experience has taught us that the results of “advancing greenery to push back the sand” can only be sustained over the long term if the vegetation along the desert's edge achieves sufficiently high levels of both species diversity and abundance. To continue the fight against desertification, we need a more robust biological “army” to resist wind and sand. Newly planted vegetation must be carefully managed, while those planted over previous years require scientific maintenance. Furthermore, greater efforts should be made to cultivate and conduct trials of more new species suited to desert conditions and to explore more effective plant configuration models. 

Deserts should be systematically managed according to their nature

Is the aim of sand control to turn every desert into an oasis? Does combating desertification simply mean “the greener, the better?” The experience of the Taklamakan Desert makes it clear that these are in fact misconceptions. 

Deserts are an integral part of terrestrial ecosystems and play an indispensable role in maintaining the balance of the biosphere. A desert is far more than just sand; it is a complex and dynamic ecosystem, encompassing diverse landforms, geological features, and biological resources.

Therefore, those engaged in desertification control must look beyond the sand, view deserts within the context of global ecology, and follow the laws governing the formation and development of different desert types, thus managing each desert in a way suited to its nature. Furthermore, we must take a holistic and systematic approach to the protection and management of all ecological resources, including mountains, rivers, forests, farmland, lakes, grasslands, deserts, and snow-and-ice ecosystems.

Efforts should be made to upgrade technology-driven desertification control 

The power of science and technology in combating desertification is widely recognized, yet like any system, it requires constant updates and upgrades. Greater effort is needed in foundational research on the mechanisms of desertification, the patterns of ecosystem succession in deserts, and the processes of ecological restoration, so as to drive qualitative breakthroughs in key technologies. When it comes to applied technologies, it is essential to avoid a “one-size-fits-all” approach and the mindset of seeking a “once-and-for-all” solution. Usage standards and specifications need to be further refined. 

For example, in photovoltaic desertification control, application scenarios should be more precisely tailored to local conditions to ensure adaptability on the ground. For emerging technologies that promise greater efficiency and precision—such as smart seeding robots and smart irrigation systems that can be dozens of times more efficient than manual labor—it is necessary to strengthen mechanisms for collaboration among industry, academia, research institutions, and end users, accelerate innovative research and deployment, and establish robust technology promotion and service systems.

Desertification control and prosperity promotion must go hand in hand 

In the Taklamakan Desert, the transformative shift from merely combating sand to creatively utilizing it demonstrates the feasibility of turning greenery into gold and finding wealth within the sands.

Today, regions encircling the Taklamakan are working on two fronts. On one hand, they are developing oasis-based ecological agriculture, carrying out green upgrades to traditional industries such as textiles and chemicals, and pursuing new breakthroughs in clean energy sectors such as solar and wind power, so as to drive the ecologically sustainable development of industries. On the other hand, they are encouraging enterprises to leverage their position as market entities to extend both the industrial and market chains of products such as fruits, vegetables, and desert plants, so as to promote the industrialization of ecological resources. 

Experience shows that, to turn green belts into drivers of prosperity, greater efforts are needed to strike a balance between protection and development. We must treasure the achievements made in desertification control while harvesting the dividends of ecological progress. With policy, funding, technology, and talent support, we can leverage the ecological value of industries to enhance the economic value of our development.

(Originally appeared in Qiushi Journal, Chinese edition, No. 18, 2025)