A navy unit stationed on the Xisha Islands of the South China Sea harvested seven kinds of vegetables on a piece of sandy land, aiming to tackle the shortage of vegetables on islands. As the coral sand here contains high volume of salt and alkali and lacks fresh water, vegetables are hard to grow. The breakthrough was achieved after a four-month research and experiment conducted by the garrison force and a university research team. They developed a botanical fiber adhesive powder material that can be mixed into sand. After watering, the sand is turned into "fertile soil" suitable for vegetable cultivation.