China completes major desert control project in Inner Mongolia

HOHHOT, July 6 (Xinhua) -- A barrier belt spanning three deserts in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has been completed, marking a milestone achievement in the country's desertification control efforts.

Workers laid the final straw checkerboard -- a traditional sand-fixing technique -- on Sunday, completing the last stretch of the 1,856-km green barrier across the Badain Jaran, Tengger and Ulan Buh deserts to halt further desert encroachment.

The three deserts within the Alxa League of Inner Mongolia cover a total area of 94,700 square kilometers, accounting for 83.04 percent of the region's total desert land.

"We use the straw checkerboard method to first lock the shifting sand, followed by planting drought-resistant trees such as sacsaoul. This approach helps us build an effective sand prevention and control system, ultimately strengthening the ecological barrier," said Zhang Youyong, chief engineer at the forestry, grassland and desert control bureau of Alxa Right Banner.

Over the past four decades, the Alxa League has carried out desertification prevention and control across nearly 100 million mu (6.67 million hectares). It has also built two green belts, stretching a total of 460 kilometers in length and 3 to 20 kilometers in width, along the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert and the southwestern edge of the Ulan Buh Desert.