On February 7, China's fifth scientific outpost in the Antarctic, Qinling Station, was officially opened and put into operation.
The length of 3,046 kilometers represents the circumference of the Taklimakan Desert. Over the past 40 years, thanks to the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program (TSFP), the world's largest afforestation program to tackle desertification in China, a green belt stretching 2,761 kilometers has been established around the Taklimakan Desert.
