China's eradication of extreme poverty, officially announced in 2021, marked one of the most significant poverty-reduction efforts in human history. This achievement is defined not only by its immense scale, but also by the long-term mechanisms put in place to consolidate these gains.

Along the southeastern edge of China's Tengger Desert, workers were pressing bundles of straw rope into the sand in a grid pattern, like a giant checkerboard holding the dunes in place.

Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region is moving to turn its distinctive mix of heritage, wine and desert landscapes into a new draw for global travelers, as it shifts toward more immersive and experience-based tourism.

The Xisha watermelon is a watermelon variety cultivated on sandy earth covered with stone gravels. The fruit is often hailed as the "green gem of the Gobi Desert" owing to its great economic value. Zhongwei City, a major producer of Xisha watermelons, plans to plant 420,000 mu (28,000 hectares) of the watermelons this year.