Fight against desertification 

cctv.com 10-20-2005 15:52

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In today's episode in our series of reports on the region's changes over the past half-century, we put the spotlight on anti-desertification efforts of Cele County. For centuries, the people of Cele have been trying to stop their land from turning into desert. And they're making considerable progress.

Cele County is situated on the southern fringe of Xinjiang's Taklimakan Desert, the second largest desert in the world.

Over the last two thousand years, the desert has been moving southward, threatening to bury Cele under shifting sands.

Because of the sand movement, Cele had been moved and reconstructed three times throughout history. The most recent resettlement was in the 1950s.

For 81-year-old Alimashon, that experience is still fresh in his mind.

Alimashon, Cele Resident, said, "Nobody wanted to leave at that time, but we had to leave. The sand has engulfed the whole county. Many people left crying."

To prevent this from reoccurring, villagers and local authorities initiated another campaign to counter desertification.

Their project includes restoration and protection of natural vegetation, transformation of sand-affected land through planting, and the establishment of forestry and farmlands.

The projects are firmly supported and funded by the autonomous regional and the central governments. And after decades of hard work, their efforts have paid off.

Chen Baojun, Director of Cele Forestry Office, said, "After the protection and planting of vegetation, the shifting of the mobile dunes has been slowed and is able to be controlled.

The environment has improved, with more rain and less floating dust. Some land can support crops now."

Here, trees are pegged together by water pipes, which not only ensure water supplies, but also the forest.

Now, thousands of mobile dunes and sand-affected farmlands have been successfully transformed. The desert has fallen back two kilometers from Cele, for the first time in its history.

Alimashon said, "Now no place is better than home. We're much more happy and healthy, and no longer afraid of sand."

Cele is winning a battle it has fought with nature for thousands of years. As a reward, its people are finally seeing the prospect of the restoration to a rich and fertile land.

Editor:Chen Zhuo  Source:CCTV.com