Shapotou curbs desertification by making straw checkerboard sand barriers

Workers take a forklift truck out of the Tengger Desert after work in the Shapotou District of 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/Cao Jiangtao)