Elion turns the Kubuqi Desert into an oasis (2)

There is a Chinese saying that building roads is the route to prosperity. But for Wang Wenbiao (Chairman of Elion Resources Group), there was no other option in the Kubuqi Desert. In 1988, when he was 29, Wang Wenbiao was appointed as factory director for Yanhaizi. On his first day at work, his jeep got stuck in sand less than 100 meters from the factory. He had to clean it all up before going into his new office. Exposed to sand and windy weather, the factory had very limited road access. As a result, tons of products could only be shipped out with difficulty. Though the factory was only 60 km from the train station as the crow flies, they had to make a detour of 300 km to get there, for there was no road. Transport costs ate up a large part of the profit, and the factory was on verge of bankruptcy. There was only one possible solution for Elion—road building and desertification control. [Photo by Yang Jia]