Millions of straw bundles and solar pumps are filling the Chinese desert after decades of suffocating sand; the plan is controversial, seems like a last resort, irrigates 200 trees and may even halt desertification now

In the Chinese desert, the sand that was suffocating villages and reaching Beijing spurred a last-ditch plan: straw mats stabilize dunes, solar pumps draw water from 100 meters away and irrigate 200 trees along the Tarim highway, halting desertification and sparking a global debate today.

No Chinese desertWhat seemed like a hopeless scenario took on a repetitive design like a chessboard: straw buried in 6-meter squares to block wind, hold back dunes, and create microclimates that retain moisture long enough for a seedling not to die on the first day.

The turning point came when the scale of the heat and dryness ceased to be merely a landscape feature and became a human threat: summers near 50°C, winters below -20°C, storms that engulf villages, and dust capable of traveling. thousands of kilometers, pushing the country toward a solution that blends straw, solar energy, and massive planting.

Why has the Chinese desert become a problem that has reached Beijing?

The Taklamacan Desert is described as a “sea of ​​death” with approximately 337.000 km² of desolation. Between the Tian Shan mountain range to the north and the Kunlun mountain range to the south, moisture becomes trapped, resulting in extreme conditions: in some stretches, Each square meter receives only 5 liters of water per week., like a small bottle.

— ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW —

This environment pushes the sand like a silent predator. Sandstorms can engulf villages without warning, farms are suffocated, rivers are pressured, and millions of people end up displaced from their homes.

In the 1990s, Beijing felt the direct impact: residents even resorted to wearing masks. more than 80 days a yearnot because of viruses, but because of sand that came from afar, traveling. about 2.000 km do Chinese desert all the way to the capital.

The Great Green Wall: a decades-long bet to curb desertification.

The response was given a name and a deadline. In 1978Then came the project known as the Belt and Road Initiative of the Three Norths, which the world came to call… great green wall.

The ambition is to 4.500 km extension and 35 million hectares of trees, with 72 years ongoing work and expected completion date 2050.

The logic is straightforward: create a living barrier capable of holding back sand, reducing storms, and altering the microclimate in critical areas.

Only the Chinese desert This raises the most difficult question: how to plant trees where it practically never rains and where the wind frequently shifts the dunes?

Millions of bundles of straw and the chessboard that holds the dunes together.

The method began with something simple and brutally repeated: common farm straw transported in enormous volumes to the heart of Chinese desert.

With it, teams dug shallow trenches and assembled a geometric grid, a chessboard in which Each square has sides of 6 meters..

The goal is not to “decorate” the sand. The straw fences block the wind, stabilize the dunes, and create microclimates. where the morning moisture gets trapped for a few more hours. This extra time can be the difference between a seed dying on the first day or taking root.

As the weeks go by, the straw begins to rot and turns into… organic fertilizer…while the roots seek deeper layers where the sand meets clay.

Solar pumps in the Chinese desert: watering 200 trees from 100 meters away.

Planting without water doesn’t add up. Pumping groundwater using fossil fuels generates CO2 and, ultimately, worsens desertification. The shift mentioned is to use the very advantage of… Chinese desertToo much sun.

The Taklamacan River receives approximately 2.700 hours of sunshine per yearAlong the Tarim Desert Highway, the installation of 86 solar pumping stations in an excerpt from 436 km that cuts through the heart of the desert.

Each station has hundreds of photovoltaic panels that generate electricity to pump water from 100 meters deep and feed 200.000 trees along the highway, with subsurface drip irrigation.

The panels are also installed approximately 2 meters off the floor to allow plants to grow in the shade, keeping the soil cooler and moister. Species such as [species name] are mentioned. licorice, hawthorn and red willow sprouting in this artificial “ceiling”.

Mirrors, tower and molten salt: energy that continues into the night.

In addition to solar pumps, a second engineering block emerges: thousands of heliostat mirrors that track the sun and concentrate light onto a central tower.

Inside the tower, melted salt it is heated to about 540°C, generating high-pressure steam to power turbines.

The capacity mentioned is 50 MW, with a quoted cost of $130M monthlyThe crucial point is storage: the molten salt retains heat, so the plant continues generating energy even at night or when there are clouds.

The narrative describes this as a Desert turned into a solar battery., providing energy and contributing to the fight against desertification in Chinese desert.

None of this works without access. China built a road in the middle of nowhere: 300 km of paved road cutting the heart of Taklamacan.

The Tarim Desert Highway began in 1993, faced temperatures close to 50°C, sandstorms, and a construction process described as hellish.

The inauguration mentioned is in October 4th, 1995, and the cost appears as 1,75 billion, presented as equivalent to approximately $260M monthly, with layers of engineering beneath the asphalt: gravel, straw matsGeotextiles and other barriers are being used to prevent sand from engulfing the road.

Today, this highway is described as an axis connecting solar farms, research stations, and even tourism, with edges of Chinese desert becoming a destination for ecotourism and dune buggy tours.

Results announced: hectares recovered and a decrease in sandstorms.

After decades, the numbers cited are large. There is talk of… 30 million hectares recovered and in a leap in the country’s forest cover: from 10% in 1949 to more than 25% today.

There is also a significant drop in storms: 82% less since the 1980sIn addition to reducing the number of dusty days in the aforementioned regions, 100 to 30 per year.

There is also mention that these forests absorb more than 20 tons of CO2 per year, reinforcing the idea of ​​”green lungs” in areas previously dominated by sand.

The controversial point: monoculture, groundwater, and the risk of repeating the mistake in green.

The plan itself is described as controversial. The central criticism is… monoculture, with a predominance of poplars and willows: they grow quickly and are impressive, but have a short lifespan and can intensely suck up groundwater.

In a disease outbreak, it is mentioned that More than a billion trees have died. in northern China, erasing years of work.

It is also mentioned that international studies indicate a continuous expansion of desertification in some areas, despite the increase in forested area reported.

The listed causes include wrong treesinsufficient rain and excessive irrigation draining the water table even further.

The proposal advocated by experts is to change the focus: stop “counting trees” and start restoring. complete ecosystems, with mixed forests, native species, grasses and shrubs, instead of just painting the Chinese desert in green.

If you had a large budget to tackle the Chinese desert, would you rely on straw, solar pumps, and massive planting, or would you prioritize restoration with native species even if the results took longer?