World's second largest desert closed by green belt

(ECNS) -- The final 285-kilometer-long stretch of a green barrier along the southern edge of the Taklimakan Desert has been successfully installed with a rose sapling planted at Yutian County of Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on Thursday.

China had built a 2,761-kilometer-long sand-blocking green belt at the edge of the Taklimakan Desert by the end of 2023 utilizing innovative methods, including biological measures, engineering stabilization, and photovoltaic sand management.

Next, China will further increase the width of the last stretch of green barrier to consolidate and improve sand blocking efficiency.

Dubbed the "Sea of Death", and covering 337,000 square kilometers, the Taklimakan Desert is China's largest desert and the second largest drifting desert in the world with a circumference of 3,046 kilometers.