How to grow crops in places where water is scarce in Gansu?

Gansu is not without rivers. Gansu is located in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. Rice is planted where the Yellow River flows. However, dozens of kilometers away from the Yellow River is a completely different scene. Gansu has a variety of geographical forms, not all of which are desert and Gobi. However, Hexi area, as most of Gansu Province, is basically Gobi.

a scene of drought.

Agriculture on the Gobi

But can you imagine people living in the gobi desert like this, and they can farm? Even if you could imagine them farming, you wouldn't imagine them farming something like this:

gravel field

... farmers sowing in gravel.

Isn't that shocking? In recent years, with the completion of new water projects, some places have been able to divert water from the Yellow River for irrigation. However, such gravel land was previously the only cultivated land. Most of the water comes from springs and wells, and very little rainfall. If you have a relatively rainy year, you can harvest more. This kind of sand has a certain water retention effect. In the past, people planted a kind of wheat called monk head wheat here. Although the yield of this kind of land is low, monk head wheat can grind the strongest flour, which is rare now. These years, as a result of poverty alleviation projects, people began to try to grow some cash crops in such fields. Although this kind of land produces small crops, it is very rich in nutrients.

pumpkin planting

ripe pumpkin

The pumpkin pictured above is grown and is called "little golden melon" because of its small size. This melon is rich in nutrition and sweet in taste. That is, the output is very small. Like other Gansu specialties, the output is poor.

How do you feel when you see these farmers farming in the stones?