A wilted sunflower hangs on a fence in front of plants which will line the
Taklimakan Desert motorway near Tazhong in the central part of Xinjiang
Uighur Autonomous Region September 13, 2003. PetroChina, which built the
world's longest desert highway to serve its oil wells, is contributing one
billion yuan ($121 million) to the project in an effort to protect the 522km
(326 miles) highway from being engulfed by encroaching sand. The highway
winds from Lunnan Oilfield, at the northern edge of the desert, to Minfeng
County at the south, dividing into two parts the 340,000 sq km Taklimakan,
the world's second largest moving desert. Research by Xinjiang Ecology and
Geography Research Institute shows that the speed of desertification in
Xinjiang in the past 10 years has decreased by 50 percent. Picture taken
September 13, 2003. REUTERS/Andrew Wong

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