Foreign

Wheat straw grids: China’s ingenious solution for sand control

Published

3 months ago

November 3, 2025

By Zhang Wen, People’s Daily

As dawn breaks over the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert, sand control workers are already at work. They spread bundles of wheat straw, press them into the sand, and shape them into neat squares. Across the vast sea of dunes, these crisscrossing “grids” of straw quietly take root, weaving a net that holds back the drifting sands.

The “wheat straw grid” is a sand-fixing method uniquely developed in China. Each small square stabilizes sand, conserves moisture, and reduces wind erosion. This innovation not only ensures the safe operation of the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway but also builds an ecological shield that safeguards China’s northwest from desert encroachment.

Driving from Zhongwei in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region into the Tengger Desert, one sees vast dunes clothed in a gray-green “checkered shirt.” Up close, each square of straw firmly anchors the shifting sands. Inside the grids, shrubs like Caragana and sea buckthorn sway in the wind, adding vibrant green to the once-barren landscape.

This area was once among the worst-affected regions by wind and sand disasters in China. In the 1950s, after countless experiments, Chinese scientists and sand control workers in Zhongwei devised this pioneering technique — laying locally available wheat straw in square patterns on the sand to form interlocking protective belts. Since then, generations of sand control workers have created the miracle of “man advancing, sand retreating,” contributing Chinese experience to the global fight against desertification.

The method is as ingenious as it is practical. Workers place bundles of wheat straw on the sand in square patterns, pressing each bundle halfway into the ground with a shovel, and pushing sand toward the roots to keep the exposed straw upright.

When construction began on the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway in 1954, a 55-kilometer stretch in Zhongwei had to cross the Tengger Desert six times. Preventing windblown sand from burying the tracks became a top priority.

“At first, we tried covering the surface with pebbles, mixing asphalt with sand, and laying reed mats, but none worked well,” recalled Tang Ximing, a senior forestry engineer with the Zhongwei state-owned forestry farm.

To stabilize the surface and help vegetation take root, researchers experimented with layers of straw and clay, but the straw was easily blown away, Tang said.

After extensive trials, they discovered that forming one-meter-square straw grids effectively reduced wind speed, trapped sand, and stabilized the surface.

“As the buried straw decomposes, it enriches the soil with organic matter, fostering microbial and plant growth. Over time, it forms a thin layer of biological soil crust,” Tang explained, adding that with this crust, shrubs can be planted, and the desert gradually transforms.

From then on, this low-cost and easy-to-apply method spread widely across the Tengger Desert. Over the past 70 years, more than 430,000 mu (about 28,666 hectares) of straw grids have been laid in Ningxia’s section of the desert, and over 100 million sand-loving plants have been cultivated.

Today, Zhongwei has totally put desertification in control. The Tengger Desert has retreated 25 kilometers, while a 42-kilometer-long, 800-meter-wide sand control belt comprised by straw grids, shrubs, and trees now protects the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway.

Driven by technology, sand control has become increasingly mechanized and automated. In 2021, Zhongwei introduced a brush-type mesh rope barrier system with mechanical installation, improving efficiency by more than 60 percent and extending the service life from two years to five or six. A newly developed multifunctional sand-fixing vehicle can lay 8.5 mu of wheat straw grids per hour, while drones and electric planting tools are now used for post-installation maintenance.

Since the 1980s, the Zhongwei method has been applied far beyond the Tengger Desert. It is seen along the Gantang-Wuwei Railway and Qinghai-Xizang Railway, and has also become a symbol of China’s ecological cooperation with the world. In 1994, Zhongwei sand stabilization tree farm was enlisted in the Global 500 Roll of Honor for Environmental Achievement established by United Nations Environment Programme. Over the years, hundreds of experts from more than 50 countries and regions have visited the tree farm, calling it a miracle sand control in human history.

Today, areas once desolate and lifeless have become tourist attractions, thanks largely to the wheat straw grids. “Along the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway’s sand control zone, we’ve established a desert plant garden, increasing the number of plant species from fewer than 25 in the 1950s to more than 450 today,” said Sun Yanlin from Zhongwei’s culture and tourism department. The vast sea of sand has turned green, attracting great bustards, golden eagles, steppe eagles, swans, red foxes, and other wildlife.

Building on ecological restoration, nearby towns and villages have developed integrated models combining agriculture, culture, and tourism. In 2024, Shapotou scenic area in Zhongwei received 1.46 million visitors, generating total tourism revenue of 428 million yuan ($60.6 million).

Foreign

Suzhou infuse modern trends into traditional craftsmanship of silk weaving

Published

18 minutes ago

February 15, 2026

Our Reporter

By Wang Weijian, People’s Daily

Silk stands as one of China’s foundational innovations and a defining symbol of Chinese civilization. Today, this ancient textile is undergoing a quiet revolution — transitioning from museum artifacts and luxury goods into contemporary fashion and daily essentials.

At 7 p.m. in Suzhou’s Gusu District, 1990s-born tailor Shi Yi arranges new inventory at Dashi Tailor Shop. Their winter qipaos (Cheongsam), featuring innovative down insulation within traditional silhouettes, blend elegance with practicality, resulting in constant orders.

Since 2023, the Suzhou Silk Museum has digitized textile patterns, transforming static artifacts into dynamic cultural assets. Leveraging this resource, Shi Yi reinterpreted classic motifs — cloud patterns, intertwining vines, and floral-bird designs — for modern aesthetics. This approach birthed sophisticated products: Song brocade handbags merging heritage with functionality; silk cushions elevating living spaces; notebook covers offering tactile cultural experiences. Through such innovations, ancient craftsmanship finds new relevance.

Technology has meanwhile granted silk unprecedented resilience. At Jiangsu Huajia Silk Co., Ltd. in Shengze, Wang Yongyu, deputy general manager of Jiangsu Huajia Silk Co., Ltd (Huajia), demonstrates stain-resistant fabric by pouring red wine onto silk and effortlessly wiping it clean. “We’ve armored silk with nanoscale protection,” Wang explains, solving a centuries-old maintenance challenge.

To address silk’s wrinkling and shape retention issues, Huajia’s R&D team perfected a silk-spandex fusion. This innovation preserves silk’s natural luster, comfort, and breathability while adding elasticity and wrinkle resistance. With 5% annual revenue invested in R&D and over 180 patents secured, Huajia now exports globally.

Innovation extends to production methods. Nearby at Wujiang Dingsheng Silk Company, electronic jacquard looms — enhanced with AI-powered monitoring systems — produce intricate Song brocade. Once painstakingly woven at just 5cm daily, this luxurious textile now flows continuously with machine precision. Chairman Wu Jianhua’s innovations have increased productivity hundreds-fold, democratizing what was historically elite craftsmanship.

Beyond fabric, silk now embodies a lifestyle philosophy. In Qidu township’s 33-hectare “Landscape Mulberry Fields” eco-park, the ancient mulberry-fish pond ecosystem thrives alongside modern silkworm rearing facilities and craft workshops. Partnering with Soochow University and industry leaders, the park serves as an innovation hub.

Founder Liu Ying, whose silk enterprise previously exported to 30+ countries, explains: “After decades perfecting textiles, we now promote a ‘silk lifestyle’ — reconnecting people with sericulture heritage and nature.” Urban professionals like Xu Shasha frequent the park: “Here, city bustle fades. Time slows, and hearts find calm.” In 2025, tens of thousands visited, boosting local homestays and agricultural sales.

The park’s founder, Liu Ying, 63, previously built a silk enterprise whose products were exported to more than 30 countries, with annual output value exceeding 100 million yuan ($14.4 million). “For decades, we focused on weaving every inch of silk well and making every garment well,” Liu said. “Now, we want to convey a ‘silk lifestyle’ rooted in sericulture culture and a return to nature.”

Xu Shasha, an urban office worker, is a regular visitor to the park. On holidays, she brings her family to relax: sipping fragrant mulberry tea, tasting sweet mulberries, enjoying silk-themed creative dishes at a restaurant in the paddy field, and taking part in intangible cultural heritage workshops such as silk weaving.

“Here, the bustle of the city fades away. Time seems to slow, and the heart finds its calm,” Xu told People’s Daily. In 2025, the park drew tens of thousands of visitors, boosting nearby homestays and driving sales of local agricultural products.

In Suzhou, the ancient wisdom of sericulture is no longer just a museum relic–it has become a living economy, vibrant, thriving, breathing new life to everyday life.

Foreign

China keeps upgrading world’s largest EV charging network

Published

49 minutes ago

February 15, 2026

Our Reporter

By Bai Guangdi, Zheng Yangyang, Wang Yongzhan, People’s Daily

By the end of December 2025, China had built 20.092 million electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities, forming the world’s largest EV charging network. This infrastructure supports over 43 million new energy vehicles nationwide.

In early 2026, China announced a three-year action plan (2025-2027) to upgrade its EV charging infrastructure. The plan targets establishing 28 million charging facilities by 2027, providing more than 300 million kilowatts of public charging capacity and to serve over 80 million electric vehicles.

China is accelerating the expansion of public charging infrastructure nationwide. Key initiatives include deploying. ultra-fast and fast chargers at highway service areas, installing fast chargers in townships, ensuring charging access in central villages, and introducing professional operators in urban communities. These measures are steadily improving charging conditions and rapidly enhancing overall service capacity.

“Heavy trucks require significant charging capacity, but many highway service areas lacked sufficient power,” explained Wang, a truck driver from Henan province. During a recent stop at Taihu service area on Suzhou Ring Expressway, he experienced remarkable efficiency: “Using the dual-gun charging system, I added 63 kWh in just 15 minutes – that’s incredibly fast!”

Chu Zhili, manager of the Taihu service area charging facilities, noted: “We’ve installed four dedicated charging stations for heavy-duty EVs. The dual-gun system delivers up to 480 kilowatts — nearly four times conventional charging speeds.”

Operational since September 2025, the Taihu station is Jiangsu province’s first demonstration site combining megawatt-level flexible ultra-fast charging with intelligent operations. The AI-driven system monitors safety hazards and equipment status in real-time, integrates multiple data streams, and supports maintenance decisions to ensure charging and travel safety.

At noon in Dongguo village, north China’s Shanxi province, resident Wang Baoqin charged her new energy vehicle at a local station paying just 0.68 yuan (about $0.1) per kWh. “Village charging is incredibly convenient,” she noted. “This is actually the most economical time to charge.”

In July 2024, Changzi county was included in China’s first batch of pilot counties aimed at strengthening county-level charging and battery-swapping infrastructure.

“We carried out a county-wide survey and selected charging sites based on 12 indicators, such as population density, tourism resources, traffic flow, and agricultural production layouts,” said Liu Jing, director of the county’s energy bureau.

Through government-enterprise cooperation, charging facilities have been installed in 68 villages. The county’s charging infrastructure plan is based on a projected average annual growth of 25 percent in local new energy vehicle ownership over the next three to five years. Construction is underway across 96 villages and along key rural roads.

“Upon completion, over 65 percent of the county will have charging access, with townships offering fast charging and major villages providing basic facilities,” Liu added.

In the eastern section of the Linjiangyuan residential community in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan province, resident Yang Jing pulled into the underground garage. After scanning a QR code and plugging in, the charging indicator lit up, and she simply headed off.

In Chengdu, Sichuan province, resident Yang Jing now charges effortlessly in her residential garage. Previously, residents of Linjiangyuan community faced significant challenges: public parking spaces prohibited private charger installation, forcing them to make 20-minute trips to nearby parks for charging.

After persistent resident appeals, community officials discovered a provincial initiative encouraging professional operators to manage residential charging. Through competitive bidding, two companies were selected to install approximately 40 charging piles per community section, strategically planned according to EV density and local power capacity. This solution has effectively resolved the community’s longstanding charging difficulties.

Foreign

Diversity key to resilience of China’s foreign trade

Published

3 hours ago

February 15, 2026

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By Ouyang Jie, People’s Daily

In 2025, China’s foreign trade demonstrated strong resilience and vitality.
China’s total imports and exports reached 45.47 trillion yuan ($6.55 trillion) in 2025, a record high that consolidated the country’s position as the world’s largest trader in goods.
Foreign trade rose 3.8 percent, marking the ninth consecutive year of growth — the longest uninterrupted expansion since China joined the WTO.
A closer look at this impressive performance reveals one most distinctive feature: diversity.
Diversity in markets
In April 2025, the United States announced so-called “reciprocal tariffs” on all its trading partners, including China, and repeatedly escalated the measures, triggering an unprecedented tariff war. As tensions mounted, the world watched closely to see how China would respond.
At that moment, at the Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu, known as the “the world’s capital of small commodities” in east China’s Zhejiang province, merchants remained unfazed by market volatility, steadily expanding into emerging markets across Africa, Central Asia, and Latin America.
At Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, also in Zhejiang, a real-time global shipping map revealed the densest cluster of routes converging on Chinese ports.
Further northwest, at the Horgos Port in Xinjiang, trains and trucks destined for Central Asia were laden with premium Chinese goods.
By tapping into these emerging markets, China’s foreign trade has become more resilient to external shocks.
China’s foreign trade network continues to broaden, with partners spanning the globe. In 2025, China engaged in trade with 249 countries and regions. Notably, import and export volumes increased with more than 190 of them.
Trade partnerships with China are deepening: 14 countries and regions traded over 1 trillion yuan, 62 surpassed 100 billion yuan, and 137 exceeded 10 billion yuan–up by 2, 6, and 10, respectively, from 2024.
This expansion illustrates how China’s foreign trade is reducing its dependence on any single market and achieving more balanced and resilient growth.
Diversity in products
Trade diversification means more than just reaching new markets — it drives higher quality, greater efficiency, and newer growth engines. Today, a growing array of “Made in China” products is gaining global traction by aligning with international demand through innovation and supporting the worldwide shift toward low-carbon development through sustainable practices. There innovation-driven value and eco-friendly credentials continue to rise.
Artificial intelligence offers a vivid example. Chinese intelligent robots not only perform tasks such as dancing, running marathons, and practicing tai chi, but also drive efficiency in production. In overseas infrastructure and transportation projects, handling robots equipped with vision systems and algorithms can intelligently avoid obstacles, while welding robots automatically scan and model workpieces to calculate optimal welding solutions. In 2025, exports of both types of robots grew by more than 60 percent.
These “quality Chinese products” enrich the lives of consumers worldwide and play a key role in global industrial and supply chains, providing strong support for international industrial cooperation.
Diversity in imports
The vast potential of China’s ultra-large market continues to unlock new opportunities for global businesses seeking access.
Recent data indicates that in the first three quarters of 2025, China became the main export destination for 79 countries and regions, three more than in the whole of 2024. China imported goods worth 18.48 trillion yuan in 2025, accounting for about 10 percent of global imports.
The effective release of production and consumption demand in this ultra-large market has provided broad market space and cooperation opportunities for countries around the world.
A range of policies to stabilize foreign trade have helped enterprises secure orders and expand markets, providing solid support for diversification. Pilot measures to facilitate cross-border trade have been implemented first in pilot areas and then replicated nationwide, helping businesses reduce costs and improve the efficiency and smooth flow of cross-border logistics.
Logistics corridors are reaching more markets, paving a broader path for trade diversification.
At Yantai Port in east China’s Shandong province, shipments on China — Africa liner services rose by 49 percent year on year in 2025, hitting a record high and linking China’s vast market with Africa’s distinctive industries.
At Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang province, the world’s first China-Europe Arctic container express route was launched, offering faster and lower-carbon international logistics options for China’s high-end manufacturing, cross-border e-commerce, and new energy industries.
Driven by open channels such as China-Europe freight trains, the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, and the China-Laos Railway, border provinces and regions are steadily moving toward the forefront of opening up.
Diversity has become a source of confidence for China in navigating external risks and a key pillar of its foreign trade resilience. Looking ahead, with global uncertainty still high and pressure mounting to stabilize trade, China is expected to step up efforts in innovative trade development, injecting greater certainty into global growth and creating new opportunities worldwide.