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Beijing, Xinjiang's Hotan connected by expressway
Source: Xinhua| 2019-08-08 00:35:01|Editor: Yamei

URUMQI, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Road trip enthusiasts can now take the expressway from Beijing all the way to Hotan, about 4,000 km away in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, as a new expressway became operational.

The expressway linking the counties of Shule and Karakax opened to traffic on July 31 and is the first expressway that connects Hotan with other prefectures. Travelers can take the expressway to Urumqi and then head for Beijing on the Beijing-Urumqi Expressway.

The new route stretches 434 km and is a sub-section of the G30 National Expressway, which links Lianyungang in eastern China with Horgos on the China-Kazakhstan border.

Its operation marks that all prefectures and cities in Xinjiang are now integrated into the national expressway network.

Construction of the expressway began in July 2017 and is expected to significantly slash the travel time between Hotan and other prefectures and cities. For example, travel time between Hotan and Urumqi, Xinjiang's regional capital, is projected to be reduced by at least four hours.

Hotan is located in southern Xinjiang. The total length of expressways in Xinjiang has topped 5,200 km, according to the regional transportation department.

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Xinjiang discharges reservoir water in another effort to revive Tarim River
By Cui Jia | China Daily | Updated: 2019-08-29 09:41

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Water discharged from Daxihaizi Reservoir flows downstream to the Tarim River in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Aug 16, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region began discharging water into the Tarim River, China's longest inland river, this month for the 20th time in a bid to revive the waterway that was once cut off because of excessive water consumption.

According to the Xinjiang Tarim River Basin Authority, 350 million cubic meters of water from Daxihaizi Reservoir will be discharged into the lower reaches of the river as part of a water diversion project aimed at restoring the environment along the 1,321-kilometer waterway originating from the Tianshan and Karakoram mountains.

Since the project was launched in 2000, more than 8 billion cubic m of water from the reservoir has been injected into the Tarim. Daxihaizi was originally built for agricultural irrigation use, but now its sole purpose is to revive the Tarim.

Excessive irrigation in the past once consumed too much water, which caused the Tarim's lower reaches to run dry in 1972 and push the plants along the river to the verge of disappearance. What's more, the disappearance of the waterway - also known as the "mother river of southern Xinjiang" - has caused the two deserts on both sides of it, the Taklimakan and Kumtag, to close into each other, causing greater threats to the local and even national environment.

"We will continue to inject water into the Tarim River, especially to the areas where the poplars grow," said Akrem Abula said, head of the authority. "Also, we will enforce patrols along the river to make sure that no one can illegally use the water, which is solely for restoring the ecological environment."

Monitoring results showed that the 10.7 billion yuan ($1.49 billion) water conveyance project has alleviated the ecological degradation in the lower reaches of the river. The groundwater level in the area has been greatly increased, and the species and number of animals and plants in the area have also risen, the authority said.

Taitema in the Taklimakan Desert, the world's second-largest shifting desert, is the terminal lake of the Tarim. The lake completely dried up in 1972 due to the poor conditions of the river, which has always been the lifeline for oasis cities and villages. Now covering 500 square km, Taitema has become the second-largest lake in southern Xinjiang.

Starting this year, Xinjiang also launched a three-year project on forest restoration along the Tarim, the regional forestry department said earlier.

The three-year restoration plan will cover 11 cities and counties along the trunk and four branches of the Tarim.

Oil producers in the area are also doing their part to protect the ecosystem. The PetroChina Tarim Oilfield Company dismantled 30 oil and gas production facilities in 2018 and will shutter 34 wells by 2020.

Xinhua contributed to this story.
 
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250,000 Tibetans relocated to new homes in anti-poverty fight
Source: Xinhua| 2019-09-28 16:21:49|Editor: huaxia

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Villager Purbu Zhoima prepares to move into her new house in Lhozhag Town of Lhozhag County, Shannan City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Sept. 21, 2019. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

Tibet seeks to lift 266,000 residents out of poverty by relocating them from harsh living conditions and ecologically fragile areas, of whom 3,359 from 939 families originally lived at an altitude of over 4,800 meters.

LHASA, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 250,000 people in Tibet have moved into 910 new settlements as part of poverty alleviation efforts by August, according to the region's poverty-relief headquarters.

China has planned to invest 19.78 billion yuan (2.8 billion U.S. dollars) in a relocation program to build 60,931 houses in around 970 settlements for 266,000 poverty-stricken citizens in the southwestern autonomous region of Tibet.

By the end of August, 93.6 percent of the investment fund had been used and 56,000 houses had been completed.

Tibet seeks to lift 266,000 residents out of poverty by relocating them from harsh living conditions and ecologically fragile areas, of whom 3,359 from 939 families originally lived at an altitude of over 4,800 meters.

Tibet has been using relocation as a means of poverty reduction. By offering job opportunities in industrial parks and cities, the relocated residents are ensured ways to make a better living.
 
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InTibet: Female Pilot Flies out of Poverty in China's Tibet
Source: Xinhua| 2019-10-12 11:01:05|Editor: huaxia
Female pilot from impoverished family in China's Tibet has changed her destiny by flying helicopter.

LHASA, Oct. 11, 2019 (Xinhua) -- The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was once known as a "no-fly zone" and it was extremely difficult to fly helicopters there. Now the first batch of young Tibetans has flown civilian helicopters to the Mt. Qomolangma base camp after professional and intensive training.

Jianre Yixi is from an impoverished herdsman family in Damxung County, Tibet. In 2016, Jianre Yixi, a student at Lhasa's No. 2 Secondary Vocational and Technical School, received a call to change her fate when a company selected pilots from poverty-stricken families. After studying more than 10 theoretical courses and hundreds of hours of intensive training, Jianre Yixi spent one year learning the flight skills and successfully obtained a commercial helicopter flight license.

"The cost of training a pilot exceeds 1 million yuan (140,942 U.S. dollars), which is entirely covered by the government and enterprises. This has changed my destiny and that of my family. Once I flew a helicopter back to Damxung on a mission, the villagers praised me as a fairy flying into the blue sky and a pride of Damxung," she said.

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Jianre Yixi prepares to fly a helicopter in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)

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Jianre Yixi walks before a helicopter in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

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Jianre Yixi talks with a herdsman in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 13, 2019. (Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi)

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Jianre Yixi prepares to fly a helicopter in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

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Jianre Yixi (2nd R) flies paper plane with siblings in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 13, 2019. (Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi)

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Jianre Yixi walks before a helicopter in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

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Jianre Yixi prepares to fly a helicopter in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

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Jianre Yixi stands in her family's pasture in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 13, 2019. (Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi)

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Jianre Yixi herds sheep in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 13, 2019. (Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi)

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Jianre Yixi walks before a helicopter in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

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Jianre Yixi (2nd R) flies paper plane with siblings in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 13, 2019. (Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi)

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Jianre Yixi prepares to fly a helicopter in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)
 
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Xinjiang invests heavily to ensure healthcare for the poor
Source: Xinhua| 2019-10-16 15:44:35|Editor: ZX

URUMQI, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region said Wednesday that it has appropriated about 2.5 billion yuan (350 million U.S. dollars) this year for medical assistance for its poor population.

Over 80 percent of the funds went to the most impoverished areas in southern Xinjiang. Another 300 million yuan has been allocated to purchase medical insurance for nearly 1.63 million extremely poor people in the area.

A comprehensive insurance plan that covers basic medical care, critical illness treatment and medical assistance has been applied to all the registered poor residents in Xinjiang so far, the government said.

The number of households that have fallen into poverty because of illness has dropped to 40,000, involving 149,000 people, a decrease of 22,000 households, or 87,000 people compared with the end of 2018, said Mutarif Rozi, director of the regional health committee.
 
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Xinjiang expands test of saline soil rice near desert
Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-04 18:27:14|Editor: Yamei

URUMQI, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The saline soil rice R&D team of Yuan Longping, the prestigious pioneer of hybrid rice, is expanding its planting scale on the western margin of the Taklimakan desert in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The area of the test field, in the township of Bayiawati, Yopurga County under Kashgar, has been expanded to 20 hectares this year from last year's 5.3 hectares, according to Cao Zhishun who leads the Xinjiang team.

Cao said the salinity of the local soil is as high as around 1.7 percent, with a pH value of over eight, indicating a high degree of salinity.

"The saline soil rice can improve soil and lower salinity, and turns saline soil into fertile farmland in three to five years," he said.

The township has a total 1,000 hectares of saline soil that is completely unsuitable for planting, said Alimjan, the township head.

Last year, the yield from the test field exceeded the expectation of Cao's team, making them more sure about the potential of their rice.

Cao said about 1,333,333 hectares, or 30 percent of arable land in Xinjiang, has been salinized at varying degrees, and the value of the saline soil rice in improving soil could be huge.

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Saline soil rice near Xinjiang desert enters harvest season
Source: Xinhua| 2019-10-25 19:31:09|Editor: mingmei

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Experts examine rice paddies in Bayiawati Township, Yopurga County under Kashgar, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Oct. 24, 2019. A public yield monitoring was conducted Thursday in the saline soil rice paddies on the western margin of the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The saline soil rice, developed by the R&D team of Yuan Longping, the pioneer of hybrid rice, achieved a theoretical yield of 546.74 kg per mu (about 0.07 hectares), based on a random drawing of a paddy. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

URUMQI, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- A public yield monitoring was conducted Thursday in the saline soil rice paddies on the western margin of the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The saline soil rice, developed by the R&D team of Yuan Longping, the pioneer of hybrid rice, achieved a theoretical yield of 546.74 kg per mu (about 0.07 hectares), based on a random drawing of a paddy.

The test field, in the township of Bayiawati, Yopurga County under Kashgar, was 20 hectares in size. The salinity of the soil was as high as around 1.7 percent, with a pH value of over eight, indicating a high degree of salinity.

Surrounding the Taklimakan, China's largest desert, are large areas of saline land that were long deemed unsuitable for agricultural production. However, the experts say the saline soil rice can improve soil and lower salinity, turning saline soil into fertile farmland.

The saline soil R&D center, based in east China's Qingdao, began field testing in Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, Shandong, Zhejiang and Shaanxi in May 2018, in a bid to screen the best variety for countrywide promotion.
 
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Highway to heaven, and to China's most isolated county
Source: Xinhua | 2017-04-17 11:26:33 | Editor: huaxia

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An aerial view of the highway to Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

China's last isolated county was connected to the national road network when a highway to Medog County was built in Tibet in 2013.

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An aerial view of a highway in Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

The road with a total investment of 950 million yuan (about 155 million U.S. dollars) stretches through hidden paths in primeval forests, tunnels under snow-covered mountains and bridges over big rivers.

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An aerial view of a highway in Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

The road is accessible for eight to nine months per year, bar major natural disasters.

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An aerial view of Medog County in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Near China's border with India, Medog locates in the downstream of the Yarlung Zangbo River and south of the Himalayas. Its name means the "secret lotus" in Tibetan. And as the name suggests, it is a beautiful place surrounded by snow-capped mountains. It used to be known as China's last and only county without a highway link.

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A U-turn of the Yarlung Zangbo River in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

The county is quite different from other areas in Tibet in terms of both scenery and weather. Surrounded by mountains, it is humid and rich in resources.

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Medog residents in a banana plantation in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Medog's breath-taking scene had attracted visitors around the world even before the road was built. Its hiking paths through mountains are famous among backpackers.

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People have to trek on rugged paths to carry in and out goods in Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region before the road was built. Photo taken on Oct. 19, 2004. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

But reaching Medog used to be a dangerous journey. People had to climb over Galung La and Doxong La, two snow-capped mountains rising over 4,000 meters above sea level. During the journey, there were frequent accidents such as landslides and collapses.

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Vehicles pass a waterfall on the highway to Medog in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Rugged mountain paths were once the only travel routes in Medog. Complicated geological conditions and frequent natural disasters had thwarted seven previous attempts to build a highway in the area since the 1960s.

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Bridges to Medog in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region before the road was built. Photo taken on Oct. 19, 2004. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Local people called the rugged way "monkeys' path," as only people who were light and flexible like monkeys could make their way out of the mountains.

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People have to trek on rugged paths to carry in and out goods in Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region before the road was built. Photo taken on Oct. 19, 2004. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

A makeshift road dug along cliffs was built in 1994, but was only accessible between July and September, with frequent fatal traffic accidents.

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An aerial view of the highway to Medog in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

The building of the new road was approved by the State Council, China's cabinet, in 2008. Work officially began in April 2009.

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Medog children in a grocery store in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)
The opening of the Medog road has greatly lowered transportation costs and commodity prices. It has also brought in opportunities for the locals and helped in poverty relief.

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A temple in Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

In 2016, over 70,000 tourists visited Medog, double the amount before the road went into operation in 2013. Most local residents now go in for tourism and transportation businesses.
科工力量
今天 13:00 来自 微博 weibo.com
【第二条进入墨脱县的公路建设进展顺利】第二条进入西藏林芝市墨脱县的公路——派墨农村公路建设进展顺利。目前,工程已累计完成投资10.47亿元。公路建成后,对加快西藏林芝市米林县和墨脱县的经济发展、推进旅游业等方面具有重要意义。(新华社记者 普布扎西 摄)

Today 13:00 from Weibo
[The second road construction into Medog County is progressing smoothly]
The second road entering the Medog County of Linzhi City, Tibet, is progressing smoothly. At present, the project has completed a total investment of 1.047 billion yuan. After the completion of the highway, it will be of great significance to speed up the economic development of Minlin County and Medog County in Linzhi City, Tibet, and promote tourism. (Xinhua News Agency reporter Pu Buzaxi)

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Over 9,000 households bid farewell to dilapidated houses in Xinjiang
Source: Xinhua| 2019-12-08 21:11:54|Editor: huaxia

URUMQI, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- A total of 9,355 households have bid farewell to their dilapidated houses and moved into new ones in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region this year, marking the end of poverty-stricken residents living in dilapidated houses in the region.

Sherihan Heyt's family, from Aratax Village, Shache County, is one of the 9,355. Sherihan's family had lived deep in the Kunlun Mountains for generations.

With much excitement, Sherihan is busy tidying the 80-square-meter new house, which is equipped with furniture and home appliances such as an end table, sofa, a TV stand and a refrigerator.

"Our old house was not far from here," Sherihan said. "The old house, courtyard and sheep pen would often be flooded during rainy seasons. Some of the walls of our old clay house collapsed, and the house became dilapidated."

However, changes have taken place in recent years. Villagers have moved to new houses, and new roads were built. "When I first arrived here several years ago, there were only mud and stony roads and no electricity or running water," said Li Xuebiao, the village's Party secretary.

"So many big changes have taken place in recent years. One major change is that we don't have to worry about floods anymore," Sherihan said while pointing in the direction of an ongoing conservation project in a valley not far from the village.

The Aratax water conservation project Sherihan mentioned is the biggest water conservation project under construction in Xinjiang. Upon completion, it will play a comprehensive role in flood control, irrigation and power generation.

Xinjiang made great efforts on renovating dilapidated houses in the region from 2014 to 2018 and completed the renovation of 395,400 households. The region allocated over 2 billion yuan (about 282 million U.S. dollars) of subsidies this year to renovate dilapidated houses in its rural areas.

Meanwhile, a total of 2.31 million people were lifted out of poverty during the period, with the poverty rate decreased to 6.1 percent from 19.4 percent.
 
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Xinjiang sees achievements in TB treatment
Source: Xinhua| 2019-12-11 16:09:30|Editor: ZX

URUMQI, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has cured more than 56,900 tuberculosis patients since 2016, according to the region's health commission.

Xinjiang has been providing free medical examinations to all people in the region each year since 2016, along with free tuberculosis symptom screenings and chest X-ray examinations for residents both in urban and rural areas aged 15 and above, the commission said.

The success rate with treatment for tuberculosis patients has reached 96.63 percent thanks to a series of measures taken in the region including the joint service mechanism of disease control and prevention organizations, hospitals and other medical and health institutions, said Liu Jianguo, deputy director of the commission.

The reimbursement rates of outpatient medical expenses and hospitalization expenses for the tuberculosis patients in Xinjiang have reached 100 percent and 90 percent respectively, according to the commission.

"I take medicine regularly with food subsidies and have milk, eggs and fruit every day at a treatment station in Hotan City," said Minawar Rouzatohut, a tuberculosis patient in Xinjiang.
 
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Tibet provided 60,000 new jobs in 2019
By Palden Nyima and Daqiong in Lhasa, Tibet | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2019-12-11 17:41

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Farmers tend strawberries in a greenhouse in Dranang county, Tibet autonomous region, in July. Berry growing and other green industries are part of the county's poverty alleviation efforts. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's Tibet autonomous region has created more 60,000 new jobs in 2019, with the employment rate standing at 75.5 percent, China Tibet News reported on Tuesday.

According to the region's development and reform commission, the increase of new jobs is 1.5 times that of 2018 and the region had 17,693 new college graduates this year, with the employment rate hitting more than 75 percent.

As of now, the region has more than 3.7 million people enrolled in various types of social security insurance, with full coverage of social security both in urban and rural areas.

This year, 2,129 enterprises have been established in the region, providing more than 15,000 jobs, including positions for 4,880 college graduates.

In 2019, thanks to the region's continuous efforts in teaching facility improvement, 62 kindergartens, 208 primary or junior middle schools, 15 senior high schools and two vocational schools have been either renovated or newly built.
 
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