Takla Makan Desert is situated in the middle of Tarim in Xinjiang with
an area of over 33,700 square kilometers. It is the largest desert in
China, and the second largest shifting-sand desert in the world.
San dunes in the Takla Makan Desert are usually over 100 meters high and
some are even higher than 300 meters.They moved forward at a speed of
150 meters a year. This is a bleak and uninhabited region, which in Uigur
language means "If you go in, you won't come out". In the past
50 years, the Chinese Government has made great effort to plant trees
to prevent the fast-moving sand dunes. A windbreak belts was built, which
improved the living condition of the local people. Today, Poplars, rose-willows,
pomegranate trees, mulberries and many other trees are growing here, even
over 80 species of birds' resident are in the interior desert.