Photos: Fighting Against Desertification in China
Chen Shuo / Xinhua / Getty A drone photo shows sand-control efforts—straw windbreaks set in checkerboard patterns across dunes—in the Taklimakan Desert, in Yuli County, Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, on September 19, 2025.
Gao Hongshan / Xinhua / Getty A staff member works to lay sand barriers in the Kumtag Desert, in Kazakh Autonomous County of Aksay, in China’s Gansu Province, on December 13, 2025.
CFoto / Future Publishing / Getty Sand-control work takes place in the Hangjin Banner section of the Kubuqi Desert, in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, on August 25, 2025.
Lang Bingbing / Xinhua News Agency / Getty Volunteers dig pits for water storage at the Zhonglin ecological public-welfare forest base in Minqin County, Gansu Province, on April 21, 2026.
Minqin, sandwiched between two of China’s largest deserts, has 94 percent of its land area covered by desert and desertified land.
As a result, it is one of China’s major sources of sandstorms.
Minqin County has initiated multiple tree-planting campaigns since 2024.
To date, volunteers have planted more than 1 million drought-resistant saplings.
Wang He / Getty Local women plow sand before planting trees and setting up windbreaks in Mingqin county on March 28, 2019, in Wuwei, Gansu Province, China.
Pan Yulong / Xinhua News Agency / Getty A staff member checks the growth of a grafted pine tree at a demonstration project in Dade Township of Zhangwu County on May 29, 2025.
Wang Chao / VCG / Getty A sandstorm approaches Zhangye, in China’s Gansu Province, on March 20, 2023.
Yang Zhisen / Xinhua News Agency / Getty An aerial view of a desertification-control area featuring solar panels in Yanchi County, in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on August 26, 2026.
Peng Yuan / Xinhua News Agency / Getty A technician controls a drone used to sow seeds in the Kubuqi Desert, in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on July 11, 2018.
Li Fu / Xinhua News Agency / Getty An aerial photo taken on May 31, 2026, shows farm fields in Ar Horqin Banner, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
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