Remnants of boundless poplar forest add magnificence to Xinjiang dessert

(ECNS) -- A 4,667-hectare Euphrates poplar tree forest has long been a feature of the sparsely populated and extremely inhospitable Gobi Desert in Alar City, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Trunks in diversified shapes of the saline-alkali-tolerant plant constitute a magnificent landscape.

The primeval desert poplar forest has withered with time, as an ancient river here got diverted northward.

Remains of the dead poplars, however, have taken root in the desert.

The desert landscape has been one of the city's most attractive scenic spots in the Tarim river region.