On July 21, the Tarim River began receiving a new round of water, 329 million cubic meters over the next three months, to sustain the green corridor along the lower reaches of China's longest inland waterway. Since 2000, 10.7 billion cubic meters of water have revived nearly 400 kilometers of riverbed, boosting plant species from 17 to over 46. The river completely dried up in 1972 due to upstream over-farming and arid conditions, but the recovery has been so dramatic that it has stopped two deserts, the Taklimakan and Kumtag, from merging.