Shapotou curbs desertification by making straw checkerboard sand barriers

A worker holding wheat straws walk past straw checkerboard sand barriers in the Tengger Desert in Shapotou District in Zhongwei City, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, June 11, 2018. 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)