Braving all hindrances the train whistles in the desert

By Liu Xiaojing in Zhongwei Source:Global Times Published: 2019/7/24 18:43:40

Coexistence of desert, oasis and Yellow River is seen in Shapotou scenic area. Photo: Liu Xiaojing/GT



"The desert can be conquered." This line from a famous article, Marching to the Desert, authored by China's meteorologist geologist and educator Zhu Kezhen, reveals the determination of the Chinese people to combat desertification in the 1950s.

According to statistics, China's desert area stretches to 2.62 million square kilometers, which is about 27 percent of the nation's total landmass. 

Lying in the southeastern corner of Tengger Desert, Zhongwei, a city in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, has been frequently battered by sand storms. There is an old saying to describe the city's harsh environment: "No bird is flying in the sky and only sand and stones are rolling on the ground." 

A turning point of curbing desertification occurred when China's first desert railway, the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway, began operation on August 1, 1958. The 990-kilometer-long railway starts from Baotou in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and expands to Lanzhou, Northwest China's Gansu Province, passing through Tengger Desert six times.

Shapotou, 16 kilometers west of Zhongwei's downtown quarter, was threatened by moving sand dunes, but now 50 kilometers of the railway passes through this area. When trains began operation there, flowing sand threatened the train's safety. 

Baotou-Lanzhou Railway passes through Shapotou, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Photo: Courtesy of Shapotou scenic area



"In the initial period, the railway track was often buried under the sand carried by fast-flowing winds," a guide at Shapotou's Desert Museum noted. "It took a lot of work and money to clean the sand away and ensure trains ran smoothly," he said. 

Experts from the former Soviet Union had allegedly predicted that the railway would be buried by sand in 30 years. To protect the railway from moving sand dunes, researchers, workers and local people conducted trials. 

"At first, people paved straw on the desert and scattered a layer of sand on it." Zhang Kezhi, former head of Zhongwei Gusha (sand-fixation) Forestry Farm, said in a video provided by Shapotou scenic area. "But it was easy to blow away," he added.

After several attempts, people discovered that straw checkerboards were the most effective way to fix the problem posed by sand dunes. 

"People also tried paving coals on the sand during the last century. However, in comparison, straw checkerboards are eco-friendly and low-cost," said a local.

The checkerboards consist of numerous 1-square-meter straw grids. To pave a straw checkerboard, local people first put straw - usually from wheat - on top of the sand, and then bury the straw partially by shoveling it. The straw is both 30 centimeters above the ground and 10 centimeters below the ground. 

Local resident demonstrate how to create straw checkerboard in Zhongwei, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Photo: Liu Xiaojing/GT



After three to five years when the straw rots, the surface of the desert will turn into a one to two millimeters-thick hard crust, which marks the successful stabilizing of the sand. 

In 1958 and 1959, a total of 1,066 hectares of straw checkerboards were paved in Shapotou. 

In the following three decades, Zhongwei established a 60-kilometer sand barrier along the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway. Now the railway has been operating smoothly for more than 60 years.

In 1977, China shared technique to control desertification in Shapotou at the United Nations Conference on Desertification in Nairobi, Kenya.

Shapotou was elected to the UN Environment Program's Global 500 Roll of Honor for its achievements in anti-desertification in 1994.

In recent years, a total of about 10,333 hectares of straw checkerboards have been created, and 9666.67 hectares of shrubbery has been grown for sand fixation in Zhongwei, according to the Xinhua News Agency's report on August 2018. 

By combating desertification for decades, the border of Tengger Desert in Zhongwei has retreated 20 kilometers. 

Straw checkerboard is seen in Tengger Desert, Zhongwei, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Photo: Liu Xiaojing/GT

Opportunity for Tourism

The success story of combating desertification in Zhongwei has helped evolve its tourism sector. 

Located at the intersection of Ningxia, Inner Mongolia and Gansu Province, Zhongwei has varied natural landscapes.

With decades of curbing desertification, there is a harmonious coexistence of desert, oasis and the Yellow River in the city.

In 1984, Shapotou was listed as China's first desert nature reserve by the State Council. 

Three decades on, the scenic area has now become a well-known, desert-themed tourist attraction with plenty of activities, including camel riding, sand-boarding and sand surfing, and has a glass-bottomed 3D walkway.

Shapotou has also established the Desert Museum, providing tourists with knowledge about China's desertification and how Zhongwei people tamed the desert over the last century.

Jinshadao is another scenic area in Zhongwei, lying in the southeastern Tengger Desert and 20 kilometers from Shapotou. It has been developing ecotourism by conducting ecological restoration since 2008.

Covering an area of 22 square kilometers, Jinshadao was nicknamed the "West Wind Mouth" for its flowing sand and sparse vegetation. 

Now, after ecological restoration, 88 percent of the area has become oasis featuring a variety of flowers such as lilies, chrysanthemums and lavender.

"To show tourists the outcome of combating desertification and ecological restoration, we remain a part of the desert with our scenic area as a comparison," Fan Zhenguo, vice general manager of Jinshadao Scenic Area, told the Global Times.

In 2018, Zhongwei welcomed 7.6 million tourists, earning an annual tourism revenue of 6.2 billion yuan ($901 million), witnessing year-on-year growth of 11.4% and 15.7% respectively, Xinhua reported on January 2019.
Newspaper headline: Railway succeeded


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