Ningxia is winning battle against sand

Efforts to combat the loss of land to desert have reduced the arid area in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region by 30 percent since the 1970s and prevented sandstorms from sweeping through Central China.

"We've made breakthrough achievements in fighting desertification," said Li Jianhua, a National People's Congress deputy and the region's Party chief. "Ningxia has become known for blue skies, green land, clean water and fresh air.

"As the first region to successfully control the speed of desertification, we have cut the passage through which sandstorms entered Central China."