Due to shrinking surface area, Xinjiang's largest salt lake, Aibi Lake, has increased the desertification of the area and subsequently transformed into one of China's major sandstorm sources.

Down to just 500 square kilometers from its original 1,200, Aibi Lake has become a direct threat to the sustainable development of the Economic Belt on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains and the security of the new Euro-Asian Continental Bridge.

With the smaller surface area, water resources from the lake have been reduced to 600 million cubic meters from 3 billion cubic meters. Shrinkage has also increased the salt content of the lake water yearly, which has now reached 3 percent, close to the average salt content of seawater.

The decrease in water has transformed the surrounding areas of Aibi Lake into a 1,500-square-meter desert belt, expanding at a speed of 39.8 square meters per year. Under the hot sun, large a...

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