Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has started an afforestation campaign by building a tree belt at Alataw Pass, a windy area on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountain.
The project will be divided into four stages and cost 39.7 million yuan. It includes a 200-meter-wide and 8.8-kilometer-long windbreak, a bush area covering 14,000 hectares and an irrigation project.
When the project is completed, the vegetation coverage rate at Alataw will increase to 31 percent, said a local afforestation official, adding that it marks a substantial progress in treating one of the region's desertification source.
Alataw pass is the largest land port in western China.
Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has started an afforestation campaign by building a tree belt at Alataw Pass, a windy area on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountain.