Sand Control Research Station

　　The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Cele County Sand Control Research Station is the third stop in the Cele Humanistic Ecological Tourism Park. Established in 1983, the station was relocated to the edge of the desert in 1993. It was included in the Desertification Monitoring Network of the State Forestry Administration in 2001, and in the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network in 2003. In 2005, it became a field research station and was officially named the Cele County Desert Grassland Ecosystem National Field Research Station of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

　　Located on the southern edge of the world-renowned Taklamakan Desert—one of the most mobile deserts—and at the northern foot of the Kunlun Mountains, Cele County historically had to relocate three times due to advancing sandstorms. In 1983, when the raging sands once again approached just 1.5 kilometers from the county town, the people of Cele, with no further ground to give, launched a “last stand defense.” The Cele National Field Research Station of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences—established that same year—was tasked with an urgent mission and rose to the challenge of this desperate battle.