Writer: H M Remi

Kubuqi Desert, Inner Mongolia, is the 7th largest desert in China. People name it the "Sea of Death" because it is so deadly that even birds won't possibly survive flying across it. Over the years, desertification went more serious there because of overgrazing. There were 0.16 billion tons of sand pouring into the Yellow River every year, causing severe sandstorms in northwest China. It does not only cause health problems for its people, but it also makes it a big challenge for China to combat desertification.
 
In 2017, China started the construction of the Dalate Photovoltaic Power Station in the Kubuqi Desert. The site occupies 100 thousand mu of land with a system capacity of 2 million kilowatts. There are 196 thousand solar panels installed in the project's first phase. The panels were put together to form a running horse illustration of 1.3 million square metres in Kubuqi Desert, making it a spectacular scene.
 
This project brings green energy to desert citizens. In addition to the setup of the solar panels and the trees planted around the site, the solar power station also functions to control desertification and lift the desert citizens out of poverty: people can grow plants, farm, and graze among the solar panels. The green grounds allow more diverse industries to survive and thus provide more job opportunities to the local people, such as organic farming and desert tourism. This helps eliminate poverty from the district faster; the plants and animals living among the solar panels are more than just products and forage. They also play a big part in controlling desertification by improving the soil quality in the area.

The Dalate Photovoltaic Power Station is beneficial to the environment, ecology and the economy. It is a project with multiple functions and achievements! The success of this project offers China a precious experience, and the government has determined to expand the same to Ulan Buh Desert and Tengger Desert in the hope of vitalising deadly places into oases.

Sources
http://env.people.com.cn/BIG5/n1/2020/0930/c1010-31881042.html
https://kknews.cc/zh-hk/news/9n348bq.html
http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2019-11/20/c_1125253057.htm
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-09/19/c_139381387.htm
https://guangfu.bjx.com.cn/news/20210615/1158108.shtml

Image source:
https://www.china5e.com/news/news-1072067-1.html