On the windswept fringes of the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang's Yutian County, a quiet revolution is unfolding under the leadership of Jia Cunpeng, Party Secretary of the local Forestry and Grassland Bureau. For over a decade, Jia has championed an innovative approach to desert control that transforms barren sands into economic opportunities while restoring fragile ecosystems.
"Sand isn't our enemy – it's potential," Jia explains, standing amid experimental plots where medicinal herbs like cistanche and licorice now thrive. His team combines traditional sand-leveling techniques with modern agricultural science, creating a model that generates income for local residents through herbal cultivation while stabilizing shifting dunes.
This ecological-economic balancing act has drawn attention from climate researchers and development experts. The project demonstrates how China's desertification control efforts can simultaneously address environmental challenges and rural revitalization in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
