How To Protect The World's Longest Desert Road From Being Buried

Fogonazos has posted some photos showing the Tarim Desert Highway in China (view Google map). The total length of the highway is 552km with approximately 446km of the highway cross uninhabited areas covered by shifting sand dunes.

Built in 1995 to move oil from the Tarim Basin, China's largest inland basin, the highway has been lined with a 60-metre-wide tree belt along the route provided with a massive irrigation system which pump water for the vegetation.

The aim of the tree belt is to prevent the sand from covering the highway. It is maintained by workers who living in blue houses every 4km. Between them they plant 2 million rose willows, sacsaoul and buckthorn. It's a very lonely job that requires workers to live in the houses for at least 2 years.

There is more information as well as more photos here.

Comments

[Proffessortwo]

I was just reading the latest National Geographic issue about China, and there was a picture of this desert road. I had been wondering ever since why there was a little blue house there in the middle of nowhere! Great find!

[ben]

woah that google map bit is amazing, zoom out abit and you can see the huge dunes. Looks like a beach lol