File photo taken on July 27, 2015 shows erberries planted in the Kubuqi Desert in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.[Photo by Lian Zhen/Xinhua]

The sixth Kubuqi International Desert Forum kicked off in the Kubuqi Desert, China's seventh-largest sand area, in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region on July 29.

The Kubuqi Desert, covering 18,600 sq km, is the nearest desert to Beijing and was once the source of frequent sandstorms hitting the city.                                                                                 

Local people there have found their own ways to fight against desertification over the past three decades through scientific and technological means.

Elion Resources Group, a green technology and finance company, has been part of the Kubuqi desertification-control project since 1988.