Elion turns the Kubuqi Desert into an oasis (1)

Ren Xiang says the decision to grow liquorice is no accident. Liquorice is well adapted to the sandy soil and the dry desert steppe climate, and was grown in Hangjin as early as the Sui and Tang Dynasties, making it one of the most important liquorice producing regions in China. Liquorice is a leguminous plant with a symbiotic association with rhizobium, which can fix nitrogen and effectively improve soil conditions.

As Ren points out, in the past the liquorice was dug up in the wild. Due to excessive harvesting and a lack of protection and development, the crops of liquorice fell drastically and the ecosystem was damaged, further affecting the conditions for the liquorice business. In the 1980s, with the launch of a liquorice protection project, the Hangjin Medicinal Company for whom Ren worked made a technological breakthrough in artificial cultivation of liquorice, which later lead to large-scale farming. [Photo by Yang Jia]