Experts from France's General Company of Geography were invited to the Junggar Basin in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in 1980 to prospect for oil. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Cainan Oilfield located in the heartland of the Junggar Basin was discovered on May 11, 1991. It was China's first desert oilfield with a million-ton capacity. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Jiulong Lake, a water conservancy project that supplies 400 million cubic meters' of water every year, was constructed in Karamay in 2000. It laid a solid foundation for the sustainable development of the oil city. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]