With the continuous invasion of the Taklimakan, the world's second largest desert, people in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region are trying to fence in the encroaching desert with trees.

Yin Chuanjie, an official with the Regional Forestry Bureau of Xinjiang, said more than 1,000 green walls are encircling the triangle-shaped desert at the northern, western and southern edges like a huge scarf, holding back the "sand dragon" from further migration.

Located in what is now the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the sea of sand that is the Taklimakan Desert was once regarded as almost impassable by merchants travelling through the area.

With an area of 340,000 square kilometres, the desert is as large as Britain, Ireland and Holland combined.

Though the area was home to numerous flourishing civilizations in history, few survived the intrusion of the desert.

As the capital of the ancient Jingjue Kingdom, Minfeng County, once called Niya, on the southern edge of the desert was once swallowed by the desert like Loulan, or Kroraina, an ancient civilization on the eastern tip of Taklimakan, whose collapse still remains a mystery to historians.

Even in modern times, the county seat was forced to move three times to escape the invasion of the desert.

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, China launched a planting programme covering its north, northeast and northwest in 1978. Since then, the central government and the regional government of Xinjiang have invested some 10 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) to curb the expansion of the Taklimakan Desert.

Over the past two decades, more than 860,000 hectares of trees were planted in the desert area, which, if arrayed into a one-metre wide belt, could surround the equator of the earth in three loops, Yin said.

Thanks to the green belts, local people are enjoying better weather. Statistics from the regional meteorological authorities showed that sandstorm days every year had declined to 11 from 22 in 1978 and dusty days dropped from 66 to 30.

Only drought tolerant tree breeds like sacsaouls, purple willows and narrow-leaved oleasters can survive the arid environment.

Because of atrocious weather conditions, young trees require special care, said Yin.

It is estimated by regional forestry workers that the cost for a hectare of trees averages a minimum of 13,500 yuan (US$1,600), equal to a year's income for about 10 local people at the southern end of the desert.

Local people are mobilized to work for the programme for free and some even plant trees at their own expense, Yin said.

Aihemaiti Ailamuniyazi, an ethnic Uygur in Baishituolage Township of Luopu County, has planted more than 50 hectares of trees at his own expense since 1976.

"When the wind blew in the desert in the past, we couldn't even eat because sand would intrude into rooms and make our food gritty," the man said. "Without trees, our houses would sooner or later be swallowed by sand."

In Minfeng County, local people spend an average of two months planting trees every year, said Tong Weidong, county Party secretary. As a result, a 120-kilometre "green wall'' has been built at the southern edge of the desert in the county, which once could only submit to the desert.

The green wall is expected to expand to 250 kilometres within two years, said Tong.

In Qiemo County, also located at the southern edge of the desert, the green wall has forced the desert to concede 500 metres.

Dozens of large green belts have been connected into a huge great green wall in southern Hetian Prefecture.

In Aksu at the western end of the desert, the army garrison and local people worked for 18 years to build a 70-kilometre long and 25-kilometre wide green belt.

In 2002 alone, Hejing County at the northern end of the desert planted more than 2,800 hectares of trees.

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