A team of Chinese researchers arrived on Sunday at the Arjin Mountains, an uninhabited zone in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, for the first comprehensive scientific survey of the area in 40 years.
The scientific investigation is led by scientists at the Xinjiang Branch of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography under CAS.
Over 30 researchers and support staff will spend about 10 days in the area to carry out comprehensive field surveys, sampling and interdisciplinary studies to get a better understanding of its natural resources, such as water, soil, plants and wild animals.
One of their major tasks is to evaluate how global warming has affected the region over the past four decades.
Satellite images show that lake areas in the region have expanded significantly over the last 40 years, likely due to meltwater from the mountains.
The researchers will conduct field surveys and collect samples of the water to find out the factors behind the dramatic changes and analyze future trends.
The Arjin Mountains is one of China's four largest depopulated zones. It is a nature reserve covering 45,000 square kilometers of the Arjin Mountains, home to around 50 state-protected wildlife species.
Efforts have been made for environmental protection in Arjin over the past few decades. Ecosystems have regenerated on the nature reserve since it was set up in the 1980s to keep poaching, illegal trespassing and mining at bay.
(All photos by Cao Qingqing, CGTN)