Desert control project in Xinjiang improves farmer's life

Memet Metseyit digs dried cistanche from the sandy land he contracted in Minfeng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

For Memet Metseyit, a farmer and his family living on the southern edge of the Taklimakan Desert, known as the "Sea of Death," sandstorms were a constant menace.

The Taklimakan covers 337,600 square km and its circumference measures 3,046 km, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world.

Since Xinjiang launched a desert control project and developed sand industries in the late 20th century, Memet has earned himself a good life by contracting sandy land for reclamation and planting red willow and cistanche, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb that grows in the desert .

In recent years, local authorities of Hotan Prefecture which administers Minfeng County have encouraged and guided various social forces to engage in sand prevention and control. As a result, 33 enterprises and 14 cooperatives have been introduced to help restore sandy land, along with 8,277 households contracting the land for reclamation and farming.

Thanks to decades-long efforts, the Taklimakan Desert has been completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt stretching 3,046 km.

Memet Metseyit and his wife dig dried cistanche from the sandy land they contracted in Minfeng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Memet Metseyit and his wife inspect the sandy land they contracted in Minfeng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Memet Metseyit introduces home-grown cistanche to a purchaser in Pupuk Village of Minfeng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Memet Metseyit and his wife prepare lunch in Pupuk Village of Minfeng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Memet Metseyit drives a car to the sandy land he contracted in Minfeng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Memet Metseyit (R) talks with his family member at home in Pupuk Village of Minfeng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Memet Metseyit and his wife check drip irrigation hoses laid on the sandy land in Minfeng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Memet Metseyit checks drip irrigation hoses laid on the sandy land in Minfeng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Memet Metseyit arranges dried cistanche in Pupuk Village of Minfeng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Memet Metseyit arranges dried cistanche in Pupuk Village of Minfeng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Memet Metseyit (R) introduces home-grown cistanche to a purchaser in Pupuk Village of Minfeng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Memet Metseyit and his wife pick dried cistanche for sale in Pupuk Village of Minfeng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)