Incredible! China surrounds world’s second largest desert with ecological green belt

China encloses Taklamakan desert with ecological green barrier.

The Taklamakan Desert, known as the “Sea of ​​Death,” was completely surrounded by a 3,046-kilometer-long green barrier, Xinhua news agency reported. This project, located in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, in northwest China, is the largest continuous ecological barrier around a desert ever built in the world, according to satellite images released by the Xinjiang Daily.

On Thursday morning, species such as desert aspen (Euphrates people), saxaul (Haloxylon) and tamarisk were planted in the final stretch, on sandy land in Yutian County, on the southern edge of the desert. The completion was announced by the regional forestry and pasture department.

With an area of ​​337,600 square kilometers and a perimeter of 3,046 kilometers, the Taklamakan is the largest desert in China and the second largest mobile desert in the world. The region, which receives just 50 millimeters of rain per year and faces an average evaporation of more than 2,500 millimeters, experiences extremely arid climatic conditions.

Among the biggest challenges faced by the project are the size of the desert, the dry climate and water scarcity, as well as frequent sandstorms. Approximately 258,400 square kilometers of the desert are made up of shifting dunes, some up to 300 meters high – equivalent to a 100-story building.

Liu Yongping, a researcher at the Institute of Forestry and Sand Control of the Xinjiang Academy of Forestry, said the Taklamakan is one of the areas most affected by sandstorms in China, posing a great threat to oasis areas. He highlighted that this monumental project is proof of China’s technological and organizational strength in combating desertification.

Local residents celebrated the feat. A 57-year-old resident traveled 20 kilometers to see the completion of the project and said the green barrier will bring better harvests for future generations.

With the project completed, Xinjiang authorities plan to expand the barrier and restore around 2.34 million hectares of desertified land by 2030, bolstering ecological recovery efforts in the region.