Similar success stories are emerging across China. In Ningxia, desert tourism and solar energy have turned barren dunes into sources of income. In Northwest China's Gansu province, farmers along the desert fringe grow Cistanche and desert onions, with more than 100 sand industry enterprises and production bases.

Beyond its borders, China is increasingly sharing its desertification control experience with the world. As one of the earliest signatories to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), it has been exporting its concepts, technologies and expertise worldwide.

In just over a month, Kazakhstan's Almaty will enter its planting season, and quinoa varieties developed by a Ningxia agri-tech company will be sown across large stretches of saline-alkali land there.

Wu Xiarui, the company's chairwoman, said trials started in 2018 and through years of practice, the project has steadily increased land utilization rates and soil fertility, while cutting water use by more than 30 percent and fertilizer consumption by 15 to 30 percent.

"We are actively expanding cooperation with Belt and Road countries such as Uzbekistan and Egypt, building an international model that combines technology export, ecological restoration and shared industrial gains," Wu said.