HOHHOT, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- In the freezing winter, on the fringes of the Kubuqi Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, dedicated sand control workers are busy mending and reinforcing defenses in the form of straw checkerboards -- featuring straw placed in a checkerboard pattern on the desert surface to secure dunes.

The workers are racing against time to complete their tasks before the spring