Located in the northwest of Ordos, China's Inner Mongolia, Hangjin Banner covers 18,900 square kilometers, with more than half occupied by the east-west-running Kubuqi Desert. Shifting sand dunes constantly encroach on fertile fields and pastures along the northern banks of the Yellow River, making life extremely harsh for local farmers and herders.

How could people reclaim land from the sand and protect local livelihoods?

Building roads became a shared goal.