China has created a 3,000-kilometer-long green belt of trees surrounding the Taklamakan Desert to combat sandstorms and desertification. Initiated in 1978 as part of the Three-North Shelterbelt project,

Just completed multi-decade project in Xinjiang region is intended to help prevent desertification and boost local economies.

China has finished a 46-year campaign to encircle its largest desert with trees, part of national efforts to end desertification and curb the sandstorms that plague parts of the country during the spring,

The Taklamakan Desert in China is now surrounded by a 1900-mile green belt to prevent sandstorms and protect local infrastructure.