The Tarim River is China's longest inland river, and it nourishes over 12 million people from different ethnic groups living along its banks. Originating from glacial melt water of the Tianshan, Kunlun and Karakoram mountains, the Tarim connects almost the entirety of southern Xinjiang. The river also forms a symbiotic relationship with the desert. For centuries, there's been an inclination for the Taklimakan and the Kumtag deserts to merge. Populous forests in Xinjiang are a result of the people's tireless efforts to sustain the waters of the Tarim River.