Shapotou curbs desertification by making straw checkerboard sand barriers

Aerial photo taken on May 30, 2018 shows a section of the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway in the Tengger Desert in the Shapotou District of Zhongwei City, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Shapotou, whose name was derived from high sand dunes, is located on the southern edge of the Tengger Desert. For half a century, Shapotou is renowned for curbing desertification by mainly making straw checkerboard sand barriers in large scale.(Xinhua/Lu Ying)