It took 46 years to create the 1,900 mile, ~3060 km green belt around the 130,350 square miles (337,600 km2) desert. The linked article doesn't say anything about negatives, but the positives seem to be very beneficial for the area.<p>I really wish other major powers would commit to similar projects. In my opinion, communities need larger goals to strive towards, to provide a sense of continued belonging and reinvestment for the future.
I wonder whether this is working, as far as preventing desertification goes. The project has critics. It might just the state declaring victory?<p>Edit: apparently it’s controversial.<p>Will China’s “green Great Wall” save it from encroaching sands?<p><a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2024/12/05/will-chinas-green-great-wall-save-it-from-encroaching-sands" rel="nofollow">https://www.economist.com/china/2024/12/05/will-chinas-green...</a><p><a href="https://archive.is/FVimm" rel="nofollow">https://archive.is/FVimm</a>
> <i>”The initiative combines solar-powered sand-blocking technology with extensive vegetation planting to stabilize the desert’s edges.”</i><p>What sand-blocking tech is that? Does anyone know?
I've been to Turpan and the Tarim Basin area, which is on the northeast edge of the desert. It's the only place I've witnessed a sandstorm, and it's very hot ... local people told me not to leave rented bikes parked in sunlight as the tires were at risk of bursting.<p>Many centuries ago, local Uyghur people developed ingenious mechanisms to channel snowmelt from the northern mountains for irrigation ... basically covered stone channels that stretch for thousands of miles and enable crops like grapes and melons to be grown. In Turpan itself, grape trellises are grown over many sidewalks which cools pedestrians and looks quite nice.
Very interesting topic but the article strikes me as being blogspam adjacent.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Green_Wall_(China)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Green_Wall_(China)</a> cites <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/china-completes-3-000-km-112549261.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.yahoo.com/news/china-completes-3-000-km-11254926...</a> which is one of many press articles that only cites (but does not link) state media.<p>The Economist has paywalled writeup <a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2024/12/05/will-chinas-green-great-wall-save-it-from-encroaching-sands" rel="nofollow">https://www.economist.com/china/2024/12/05/will-chinas-green...</a> that is a bit skeptical of the project's impact (unlinked claims at least half due to increased rain, not human efforts) and sustainability (also unlinked, but I'd guess correct, it seems somewhat similar projects such as the great plains shelterbelt in the US decline unless maintained).<p>Surely there must be an afforestation/macro ecological engineering geek out there who has blogged on this in depth, would love to read it!
Im sure the reality on the ground will be less disappointing with these than it was with the claims of russian aemy to be the 2nd mighty in the world. Those autoritarians would never lie to us.
China may well have replaced the USSR as the latest bogeyman to keep attention away from whatever war crimes the US is currently supporting or committing, but all I can think about is the ~$10T spent on and millions of lives lost to the "War on Terror" and what could've been done with the money instead.<p>I mean just look at the high speed rail transformation in 16 years [1].<p>China is not without its issues but neither is the US government and at least China is investing in long-term infrastructure for their people. Chinese foreign policy is also considerably less damaging than American foreign policy.<p>[1]: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/xszhbm/chinese_highspeed_railway_map_2008_vs_2020/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/xszhbm/chinese_hig...</a>