Uygur farmer Imin Matkurban calls his son from a poplar tree in his yard in Darya Boyi, a town located in Taklimakan Desert, the world's second-largest shifting sand desert  on March 17, 2019 (XINHUA) 

The Sun rises and sets. That's how 40-year-old Imin Matkurban understood time. He bought his first cell phone in 2016, just to check time. However, the signal in the village was too weak, so he had to put the phone on a poplar tree that is common to find in the desert to get stronger signal.  

Imin's family has lived in the Taklimakan Desert for generations. Their town Darya Boyi, founded in the 1950s, now has 1,342 residents. In the past, being isolated from modern life, people there lived in a traditional way as portrayed in murals of a cultural heritage site nearby.  

The town is in Hotan, a prefecture in the southern part of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Hotan is famous for its jade, silk, fruits and blankets. It was at the intersection of Eastern and Western cultures along the ancient Silk Road. In 2017, a 90-km road stretching through desert connecting Yutian, the county which administers Darya Boyi, to a resettlement community, changed Imin and his neighbors'perception of life. 

Imin was assigned a new apartment in the resettlement community, where he became a neighbor of Hayrulhan Matusun.   

"I loved it the first time I entered it, especially the kitchen and bathroom," Hayrulhan said about her new home.   

Before she moved to the new apartment, her family lived on raising livestock in an oasis in the desert where the sheep had to walk long distance for grass. Villagers went outside only when they had to, for example, for medical consultation. Hayrulhan was 15 when she first went outside the village. 

Hayrulhan Matusun loves her new apartment in a resettlement community, 90 km away from downtown Yutian, the county that administers Darya Boyi, especially the kitchen and bathroom on September 21 (LI FANGFANG) 

"I once hoped to move to a new house, but couldn’t afford to build one like this," she told Beijing Review.  

Now with support from the government, her dream for a new house has come true. The resettlement community has basic amenities including a kindergarten, a clinic and a bus station. Each household has been given two extra rooms to develop tourism business.  

"The desert is rich in tourism resources. Now with better transportation, these resources can be tapped, which will attract more young people to come back for work," said Jia Cunpeng, the town's leader.  

Desert makes up 63 percent of Hotan while oasis accounts for just 3.7 percent. Therefore, it is hard to develop large-scale modern farming there.  

Farmers couldn't get stable income due to a lack of techniques and distribution channels. This situation improved after companies arrived here in recent years under the country's poverty alleviation campaign.  

Qimangul Matursun, 23, a villager in Moyu County, some 200 km away from Yutian, got a new smartphone three months after she started to work in a mushroom company near her village. She likes watching videos on Douyin and buys clothes on Pinduoduo, an online shopping app.   

Qimangul got married three years after her graduation from middle school, and never thought about working in her village. Although she is eager to see the world outside, she prefers to stay in the village for now to take care of her young son herself.  

However, the company opened more possibilities for her. After joining the company, Qimanguli was promoted to be a group leader within half a year, with her monthly payment up from 1,400 yuan ($205.3) to 2,500 yuan ($366.8).  

It is a modern circular agricultural enterprise in fungus research and development, production, processing and sales. The company adopts the model of "company + cooperative + farmers," which is widely applied in the prefecture to help farmers work nearby and improve farming skills. The company has engaged nearly 5,000 poor households in 13 towns nearby to participate in the business.   

Within two years, 70 companies have been introduced to Hotan, particularly in rural areas. Locals can have stable income without going far away unless they want to. Meanwhile, companies also help improve farmers’ planting skills and broaden their views.  

"I still want to see other places when I am able to and after my son goes to primary school," Qimanguli told Beijing Review.   

Among the 2.5 million people in Hotan, about 40 percent once lived under the national poverty line.  

So far, 910,000 people in Hotan have moved out of poverty. Before the end of 2020, the remaining 77,000 people will also join them.  

Copyedited by Madhusudan Chaubey  

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