In Heilin village near Shapotou, around 200 people make a living by working in the desert to make the straw checkerboards. Some work near their homes, while others travel to work in desert areas in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and Shaanxi.

In Zhongwei, about 10,333 hectares of sand is covered by these straw checkerboards. Shrubs, windshield belts, and grass belts are also constructed to keep the railway safe. Water from the Yellow River was diverted to irrigate the plants and shrubbery. The fight against sand never stops in Zhongwei.

Sand has been kept away from the rails since the 1990s, locals said.

SHARING EXPERIENCE

"It is from Shapotou that China's experience of fighting against desertification began to be known by the world," said Zhang Zhishan.

In 1977, China shared the anti-desertification technique used in Shapotou at the UN Conference on Desertification in Nairobi, and in 1994, the Zhongwei forestry farm was elected to the UN Environment Program's Global 500 Roll of Honor for its achievements in sand control.

Desert control experts in Zhongwei are often invited by other countries to share their experience, said Zhang.

"In 2016, I went to the United States for a meeting on desertification control. They talked about straw checkerboards from China. I was very proud," he said.

Shapotou's improved environment has made the city a popular desert tourism destination, receiving over 1.3 million tourists last year.

Though the sand has been curbed, the threat is not gone. China has 2.61 million square km of desert, about 27.2 percent of the landmass. According to a regulation to advance ecological progress in 2015, half of China's sandy land will need to undergo treatment by 2020.

"If we do not move forward, we will fall back. It is a fight against nature," said Gao.

At the Shapotou station, researchers have established models to monitor precipitation, underground water levels, evaporation, and growth of plants in sandy land. The findings will be applied to refine management of plantation in deserts.

"Desertification control is arduous work. It requires stamina and generations of hard work," Gao said.