China completes barrier belt to prevent eastward expansion of its fourth-largest desert
YINCHUAN, July 1 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday reached a major milestone in desertification control by completing a barrier belt along the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert in the northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
In Changliushui village in the city of Zhongwei, workers installed the final row of straw checkerboards, a traditional sand-fixing method, locking the final stretch of shifting dunes in the Ningxia part of the Tengger Desert after a sand control project spanning more than six decades.
This traditional sand-fixing method involves planting straw in a checkerboard pattern on the desert surface to stabilize sand and prevent wind erosion.
This new achievement marks the completion of a 153-kilometer-long green barrier belt in Ningxia, which is 10 to 38 kilometers wide.