Ningxia's sand-control efforts take root

After decades of efforts to control sand, people in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region who once suffered from ecological deterioration have made some desert areas blossom. The new ecological landscapes encourage tourism, and Ningxia is offering its experience to the world.

The director of the China bureau of Japan's Kyodo News Agency noted that China has a history of at least 60 years in fighting sandstorms. In 1958, people in the region invented a method for stabilizing sand with grass squares after countless repeated experiments aimed at preventing the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway from being covered. The smooth operation of trains on the country's first desert railway was assured.

The desertification control method — called "Chinese magic squares" — has now been widely promoted and applied both aat home and abroad.

Ningxia has completed 1.04 million hectares of desertification prevention and control since 2011, and it has now launched a new campaign of sand control.

The region is promoting the transformation and appreciation of desert ecological functions by exploring the development of photovoltaics, desert tourism and other industries while making efforts to explore new models, to strengthen the protection of existing vegetation and to restore degraded vegetation.

Video by Qi Yingtao