China's Green Triumph: Encircling the Taklamakan Desert

China has completed a 46-year initiative, encircling the Taklamakan Desert with a vast forest belt to combat desertification and sandstorms. Part of the Three-North Shelterbelt project, this achievement increases forest coverage significantly, though challenges like low survival rates and continued desertification remain.

China has wrapped up a 46-year endeavor to encircle its largest desert with trees, as a part of national strategies to combat desertification and mitigate the sandstorms that frequently afflict the region, state media reported on Friday.

A 'green belt' spanning approximately 3,000 kilometers now surrounds the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang, after workers completed planting the final section of trees.

The Three-North Shelterbelt project has brought national forest coverage to over 25%, though some experts note concerns about the effectiveness and survival rates of plant species used.

(With inputs from agencies.)