On the edge of the Taklimakan Desert in Lop County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 40 machines have been working to flatten the undulating dunes to create land for growing plants. Around 300 local villagers, 80 kilometers away, have been busy planting saxaul trees on a leveled sand area. By spring, the saxaul trees will grow and weave a 266-hectare "green carpet" over the desert.