STORY: Green corridor traverses shifting sand desert in China's Xinjiang
DATELINE: June 18, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:17
LOCATION: URUMQI, China
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. STANDUP 1 (English): GOU LIFENG, Xinhua correspondent
2. STANDUP 2 (English): GOU LIFENG, Xinhua correspondent
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHOU YINFENG, Management and maintenance personnel of Tarim Desert Highway
4. STANDUP 3 (English): GOU LIFENG, Xinhua correspondent
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): XU BO, Forest ranger of Tarim Desert Highway

STORYLINE:

STANDUP 1 (English): GOU LIFENG, Xinhua correspondent
"Guess where I am now? A forest path? Actually, I am on a road that traverses the Taklimakan Desert from north to south."
 
The 522-km Tarim Desert Highway went into operation in 1995.

It passes through China's largest desert Taklimakan from north to south.

It shortens the travel distance between Urumqi, the capital of China's Xinjiang, and Hotan Prefecture by 500 km.

To prevent the erosion of the highway by quicksand, a project was launched in 2003 to plant shelter forests along the road.

Within around two years, the 436 km-long green belts took shape.
 
STANDUP 2 (English): GOU LIFENG, Xinhua correspondent
"Look at this drip irrigation tap next to me, where the groundwater in the desert is fed drip by drip to the plants to help them grow in the yellow sand."

In order to irrigate and nurture the plants, 109 well stations have been built to pump water for the shelterbelt.

Zhou Yinfeng and his wife have been working here for six years.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHOU YINFENG, Management and maintenance personnel of Tarim Desert Highway
"Our job is to check the water pipes. Whenever there is a leakage, we'll fix it."
 
STANDUP 3 (English): GOU LIFENG, Xinhua correspondent
"Electricity generated from the solar panels pumps groundwater to irrigate the trees, which absorb exhaust from passing cars. In this way, the road has managed to achieve zero pollution and zero emissions."

On June 2, 2022, the zero-carbon demonstration project of Tarim Desert Highway was put into operation.
 
SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): XU BO, Forest ranger of Tarim Desert Highway
"We can see solar panels are used to generate electricity for pumping water, after renovation of the shelterbelt along the desert highway. Now all 109 well stations have been put into use. From then on, diesel power has been replaced by solar power."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Urumqi, China.
(XHTV)