A barren expanse of heavily alkaline land, where soil pH once hit 10.23 and alkalinity exceeded 20%, has been transformed into a vibrant landscape of sweet sorghum and lush vegetation beneath rows of solar panels. At the Gaoliban photovoltaic station in Horqin Right Wing Middle Banner, a science-driven rehabilitation of degraded soil is unfolding. This shift from lifeless salt flats to a thriving "solar pasture" exemplifies how Hinggan League is leveraging technology within the "Three-North" Shelterbelt Program to achieve a win-win outcome for ecological restoration, land productivity, and local income.
At the Gaoliban facility, photovoltaic arrays stretch toward the horizon. Beneath them, sweet sorghum thrives, with an average plant height of 1.5 meters and a promising harvest ahead. Just a few years ago, this site was classified as heavily alkaline soil—hard, crusted, and unable to support virtually any plant life.
Breaking New Ground on Heavy Alkaline Soil
Soil conditioning is the primary hurdle in treating severely alkaline land. In 2023, researchers from the Institute of Botany at the Chinese Academy of Sciences set up operations at the Gaoliban station to initiate a rehabilitation trial. Moving away from outdated methods involving heavy irrigation and indiscriminate application of soil amendments, the team adopted a low-disturbance approach, applying targeted science to resolve the land's ailments. Their work integrates seed biomimetic coating, pasture growth promoters, and ecological cultivation techniques, combined with desulfurized gypsum and cattle manure to neutralize soil chemistry and gradually restore its viability.
"Treating heavy alkaline soil starts with soil improvement; planting comes only after that," explained Dr. Han Peng, a researcher at the institute. The testing phase, however, was not without setbacks. In the first year, a heavy rain caused waterlogging that wilted over 30 experimental crop varieties, leaving only sesbania standing robust. That unforeseen event helped the team identify a pioneer species suited to the area's harsh conditions. Sesbania tolerates both alkaline soil and waterlogging, develops strong roots, and fixes nitrogen through nodules, steadily enriching the soil to support future vegetation.
The results have improved annually: fresh sesbania yield reached 3.6 tons per mu in 2024, and in 2025, the plots were replanted with higher-yielding sweet sorghum, lifting output to 4.5 tons per mu. Systematic treatment has brought vegetation coverage in the artificial grassland zone to 100%, while the naturally restored grassland area now boasts 94.6% coverage. The once white-crusted alkaline flats have given way to an expanse of green sheltered by the solar panels.
The Gaoliban project is not an isolated success but a microcosm of Hinggan League's broader pivot toward tech-enabled desertification control. In advancing the "Three-North" initiative, the region has replaced labor-intensive, broad-stroke methods with an integrated strategy of "new species, new techniques, and new machinery," embedding scientific practices such as salt-tolerant germplasm screening and low-disturbance soil conditioning throughout the desertification control pipeline. The numbers bear out the ecological gains: since 2021, Hinggan League has completed treatment of 1.7734 million mu of desertified land. In 2024, all 59,000 mu of exposed sandy land were fully cleared, making it the first league in Inner Mongolia to achieve zero exposed sandy areas across its jurisdiction.
Eco-Friendly Governance Opens New Income Avenues
Desertification control must do more than restore green spaces—it should also share ecological dividends with local communities. Hinggan League has introduced a "work-for-relief" model that links ecological management directly to income generation. Village collectives organize labor teams, employing farmers and herders in tasks like afforestation, mechanical operations, water supply, and post-project upkeep. In 2025, 1,492 residents earned a combined 18.4 million yuan in wages from participating in desertification control projects. Treating and protecting the land has evolved from a purely ecological obligation into a practical means of stable employment for rural households, achieving mutual gains for environmental health and livelihoods.
Pushing Forward Toward Total Sandy Land Rehabilitation
The green chapter for the Horqin Sandy Land is still being written. For 2026, Inner Mongolia has assigned Hinggan League a "Three-North" construction task covering 710,000 mu. Building on current land conditions, the league is coordinating major projects such as comprehensive Horqin Sandy Land management and integrated conservation of forests, grasslands, wetlands, and degraded areas, aiming to treat 711,700 mu and push treatable sandy land toward full rehabilitation.
Field Notes
From a single pilot site under one solar panel to systematic management across the entire sandy region, the power of technology is gradually redrawing the Horqin Sandy Land's landscape. The plants breaking through the soil beneath the photovoltaic panels are not only a sign of the alkaline land's revival but also a testament to the persistent commitment of Hinggan League's officials and residents to combat desertification and fortify the northern ecological security shield.