Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Cao Hua) news: On October 16, 2025, in the late autumn of Yutian County, the sky was high and the clouds were thin. In Wanhuayuan Sand Industry Experimental Base, 35 kilometers away from the county seat, the once sand-ravaged wasteland now exudes a faint fragrance of Chinese herbal medicines wafting through the air.

Photo shows Kurban Maitursun, the planting base administrator, pulls out a Chinese skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis) to reveal its yellow rootstalk as thick as a middle finger. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/ Cao Hua)

On this piece of land at the edge of the desert, a vast expanse of Chinese medicinal herbs stretches across a thousand mu of land, with neatly arranged fields crisscrossing each other. Chinese skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis) with its lavender-hued flower spikes stands tall in the fields, while the oily-green mint glimmers under the sunlight. Kurban Maitursun, the administrator of the planting base, bent down and gently parted the roots of a Chinese skullcap, revealing a yellow rootstalk as thick as a middle finger. "Look, the thicker the roots, the better the quality! Now is the time to inspect the results," he said.

The transformation of this sandy land began in March this year. Yutian County invested 3.5 million yuan (about 492,448.43 U.S. dollars) to explore a new model of combining trees and shrubs, and intercropping trees with medicinal herbs in the sand control and desertification prevention area. Following a plan to trial-plant 12 mu (about 0.8 hectares) for each of the varieties, 36 types of Chinese medicinal herbs were planted. After undergoing the test of a full growing season, seven medicinal herbs—Chinese skullcap, mint, astragalus, isatis root, licorice, Beijing chrysanthemum, and rehmannia root—stood out and became the first batch of well-adapted champions.

Photo shows the glossy green mint glimmer under the sunlight. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/ Cao Hua)

"The mint planted this year has grown exceptionally well, and we've already harvested it twice," Kurban said, pointing at the mint field in front of him. "Once in June and once in October, with the second harvest just completed right before you arrived." He squatted down by the edge of the field to demonstrate the harvesting technique. "You must harvest it after the morning dew has dried, as this is when the menthol content is highest," he explained. As he spoke, he gently crushed a mint leaf, and a crisp, refreshing aroma instantly filled the air.

"Growing Chinese herbal medicines in the desert has inherent advantages!" Akeli Abdueni, a member of the Standing Committee of the Yutian County Party Committee, grabbed a handful of sandy soil and said, "The extract content of the isatis root we grow is much higher than that from other producing areas, and it's also pollution-free." This year, the county specially dispatched an inspection team to conduct research in medicinal herb markets across the country, discovering that Xinjiang's medicinal herbs are highly popular due to their pure quality.

In the mint planting area, Kurban showed the reporter the newly harvested plants. "Currently, we can only sell the raw materials, but once we build a processing plant in the future, we'll be able to extract mint oil," he said. With the advancement of the "contract farming" model, these fragrant plants will become sought-after raw materials for pharmaceutical companies, ultimately transforming into "golden leaves" that boost the income of local people.

The setting sun cast a golden rim along the ridges of the Chinese skullcap fields. Akeli walked over to a planning display board by the fieldside and elaborated on the development blueprint for Yutian County's Chinese herbal medicine industry. "Next year, we will promote the seven types of Chinese medicinal herbs selected in the first batch, collaborating with enterprises outside Xinjiang and adopting a contract farming model to achieve large-scale production of medicinal herbs suitable for sandy environments. Later on, we will also expand variety cultivation, build processing plants, and transform Wanhuayuan into Yutian County's Chinese medicinal herb planting base, driving the development of the Chinese herbal medicine industry."

The golden autumn of October witnessed the successful start of Yutian County's trial planting of Chinese medicinal herbs. This sandy land is not only a base for the Chinese herbal medicine industry but also a demonstration area for the ecological battle against the encroachment of the Taklimakan Desert.

The distant sand dunes still stretched endlessly, but the fragrance of medicinal herbs wafting in the wind was proclaiming: Here, a new answer is emerging in the contest between the desert and the oasis.

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