An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 11, 2026 shows large engineering machines leveling sand dunes at Kawak Township of Moyu County, Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

Desertification prevention-and-control, one of the top-priority missions in Xinjiang for many years, offers extra job opportunities for local farmers in the slack season.

Braving an air temperature below the freezing point, local farmers are now busy preparing reeds and laying sand grids. Apart from consolidating the ecological security line for the neighborhood, their contribution also brings in extra income for their own families.

Large engineering machines level sand dunes at Kawak Township of Moyu County, Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Jan. 11, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

Farmers harvest reeds in Zawa Town of Moyu County, Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Jan. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 10, 2026 shows local farmers harvesting reeds in Zawa Town of Moyu County, Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

A local farmer presses the newly harvested reeds into bundles in Moyu County, Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Jan. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

A local farmer makes tall-standing sand barriers in Moyu County, Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Jan. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

A local farmer makes tall-standing sand barriers in Moyu County, Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Jan. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

Large engineering machines level sand dunes at Kawak Township of Moyu County, Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Jan. 11, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

Farmers lay grass grids in the desert around Kawak Township of Moyu County, Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Jan. 11, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

A local farmer delivers newly harvested reeds in Zawa Town of Moyu County, Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Jan. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 11, 2026 shows a view of grass grids in the desert around Kawak Township of Moyu County, Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)