China faces tough battle against desertification after early

A decade ago, the hinterland between the Chinese regions of Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi and Shanxi was desert. It's now green and has clean water, after a successful local government campaign to combat desertification in the area.

However, China still has 1.72 million square kilometers of desert. Economically, it costs the country over 100 billion yuan (around 14.7 US dollars) in losses annually. And the desert climate affects about one-third of the Chinese population.

The state Forestry Administration has pledged to fight desertification as urban areas faces a tough battle against encroaching sands. China has also vowed to improve conditions on more than 50 percent of treatable desertified land by 2020.