The dam, capable of river channeling, water storage and traffic connection, has created a 930,000-square-meter flat lake on the highland. According to Teng Baoting, deputy director general of the Forestry Bureau of Lhasa, the dam has increased the air humidity by nearly eight percent and improved the ecology overall since its operation from October 2016,

Over the past four years, the construction and operation of the dam and the scenic parks along the river banks have transformed the stone beaches into a land with lush trees and flowers, a favorable environment for both the wild birds and the residents.

Keep pushing: Modern technologies facilitate afforestation

Sand dunes used to be the landscape across the banks of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the 1980s. But through decades of efforts, green corridors comprising domestic and introduced psammophytes have taken root on this stretch of sterile land.

A great deal of greenery has been added to the beautiful landscape of Tibet, but a pleasant ecological environment resembling the paradise requires continuous endeavors and efforts. In April 2017, the sand control project of Shannan was launched to address the sandy land in several counties of Shannan Prefecture and improve the overall ecology there.

"Besides the local plants, we have planted fruit trees and traditional Chinese medicinal herbs like licorice in the sand. The trees are grown through drip irrigation with the underground water pumped up from the three new wells. Every one of the trees has a QR code, and data are available through a simple scan," the person in charge of the project introduced. He added that a greater number of modern technologies are being utilized in the afforestation program. "Our big-data station monitoring the data of weather and rainfall here helps us replicate our sand control experience in Kubuqi Desert."

So far, over 2.66 square kilometers of salix and over 1.33 square kilometers of licorice have been planted under this project. With its 2017 tasks fulfilled, the new round of afforestation in Shannan has embraced a good start.