A desertification control worker makes straw checkerboard barriers in the Tengger Desert along the construction site of the Qingtongxia-Zhongwei section of the Wuhai-Maqin highway in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sept. 7, 2020. The Qingtongxia-Zhongwei section of the Wuhai-Maqin highway is under construction, of which an 18-kilometer-long section going through the Tengger Desert is the first desert highway in Ningxia. A desertification control team has worked along the highway construction site, using straw checkerboard barriers and planting vegetation to stop the dunes from moving or expanding. (Xinhua/Feng Kaihua)

Desertification control workers make straw checkerboard barriers in the Tengger Desert along the construction site of the Qingtongxia-Zhongwei section of the Wuhai-Maqin highway in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sept. 7, 2020. The Qingtongxia-Zhongwei section of the Wuhai-Maqin highway is under construction, of which an 18-kilometer-long section going through the Tengger Desert is the first desert highway in Ningxia. A desertification control team has worked along the highway construction site, using straw checkerboard barriers and planting vegetation to stop the dunes from moving or expanding. (Xinhua/Feng Kaihua)

Desertification control workers make straw checkerboard barriers in the Tengger Desert along the construction site of the Qingtongxia-Zhongwei section of the Wuhai-Maqin highway in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sept. 7, 2020. The Qingtongxia-Zhongwei section of the Wuhai-Maqin highway is under construction, of which an 18-kilometer-long section going through the Tengger Desert is the first desert highway in Ningxia. A desertification control team has worked along the highway construction site, using straw checkerboard barriers and planting vegetation to stop the dunes from moving or expanding. (Xinhua/Jia Haocheng)

Desertification control workers make straw checkerboard barriers in the Tengger Desert along the construction site of the Qingtongxia-Zhongwei section of the Wuhai-Maqin highway in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sept. 7, 2020. The Qingtongxia-Zhongwei section of the Wuhai-Maqin highway is under construction, of which an 18-kilometer-long section going through the Tengger Desert is the first desert highway in Ningxia. A desertification control team has worked along the highway construction site, using straw checkerboard barriers and planting vegetation to stop the dunes from moving or expanding. (Xinhua/Jia Haocheng)

Desertification control workers make straw checkerboard barriers in the Tengger Desert along the construction site of the Qingtongxia-Zhongwei section of the Wuhai-Maqin highway in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sept. 7, 2020. The Qingtongxia-Zhongwei section of the Wuhai-Maqin highway is under construction, of which an 18-kilometer-long section going through the Tengger Desert is the first desert highway in Ningxia. A desertification control team has worked along the highway construction site, using straw checkerboard barriers and planting vegetation to stop the dunes from moving or expanding. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

Desertification control workers make straw checkerboard barriers in the Tengger Desert along the construction site of the Qingtongxia-Zhongwei section of the Wuhai-Maqin highway in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sept. 7, 2020. The Qingtongxia-Zhongwei section of the Wuhai-Maqin highway is under construction, of which an 18-kilometer-long section going through the Tengger Desert is the first desert highway in Ningxia. A desertification control team has worked along the highway construction site, using straw checkerboard barriers and planting vegetation to stop the dunes from moving or expanding. (Xinhua/Feng Kaihua)