URUMQI, May 26 (Xinhua) -- A green corridor has been created through afforestation in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, serving as a sand shield for the Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway, which runs through the southern rim of the Taklimakan Desert.

A total of 50 million square meters of grass grids have been laid and 13 million shrub and tree seedlings have been planted, stretching 300 kilometers along the railway and covering the section most prone to sandstorms, according to the Xinjiang Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway Co., Ltd.

An intelligent water-saving irrigation system has been installed to keep the plants alive, and it can be operated remotely from a mobile phone or computer, according to the company.

The afforestation work began simultaneously in December 2018 with the construction of the Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway, a key national railway project extending over 825 kilometers and linking Hotan City in Hotan Prefecture with Ruoqiang County in the Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture.

The railway, which is expected to be operational next month, will complete the final section of the Taklimakan Desert railway loop line and promote the economic and social development of southern Xinjiang.