Landlocked Xinjiang leverages unique advantages to farm fish in desert

Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a landlocked region far away from ocean, is leveraging its unique natural resources and innovative technologies to promote aquaculture in arid deserts.

Long hours of sunlight, sprawling deserts, rugged mountains and an extremely dry climate make Xinjiang an unsuitable location for seafood production.

However, the region is also home to numerous rivers, lakes, reservoirs and ponds, where the aquatic products industry can thrive.

It has more than 3.07 million hectares of water areas suitable for fish farming. In particular, the meltwater of ice and snow on its its mountains, which features excellent water quality and rich in dissolved oxygen, provides a suitable environment for salmon farming.

In Nilka County, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, a reservoir gathers meltwater from glaciers in the Tianshan Mountains, enabling the average water temperature to remain at some 12 Celsius degrees all year round. Another boon to salmon farming activities is that its water is clear and flows slowly.

In a farm, salmons are raised in floating cages of different sizes, and are fed by automatic machines.

In about three years, a salmon will grow from an egg to an adult fish, which is ready to be harvested.

Freshly-harvested salmons will be transferred to a cooling device that can freeze the fish at below five Celsius degrees, after which they will be loaded into an ice-filled box and transported to a factory nearby for processing and packaging.

With automated equipment, a fresh salmon can be processed, packaged and delivered to consumers' dining table within 24 hours.

This year, the annual output of local salmons is expected to reach about 7,000 tons.

In addition to raising salmons in low-temperature waters, Xinjiang is also setting up saline-alkali aquaculture farms.

In Tumxuk City, farmers have built fish ponds in saline-alkali land.

In winter, they raise saltwater fish fries in greenhouse, enabling them to adapt to the local saline-alkali water environment. When the temperature becomes suitable, the aquatic animals will then be cultured in outdoor ponds, where trace elements and probiotics are added to saline-alkali water to prepare "artificial seawater" suitable for the creatures' growth.

Landlocked Xinjiang leverages unique advantages to farm fish in desert

Landlocked Xinjiang leverages unique advantages to farm fish in desert

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hong Kong's Olympians held a bus parade and met the public on Wednesday, celebrating their recent successes at the Paris Games. 

The city recorded its best ever Olympic performance in Paris. The 35 athletes representing Hong Kong in Paris secured four medals, including two golds in fencing, placing Hong Kong 37th position on the medal table out of 91 medal-winning teams, sandwiched between Austria and the Philippines. 

Two open-top buses carrying the athletes, their coaches and other delegation members paraded across Hong Kong for about 90 minutes, despite the inclement weather. 

The public braved the rain to extend their heartfelt appreciation. 

"I was actually at the Olympics in Paris supporting them. And, I thought it'd be a great time, even though it's not great weather today, but to come out and support them and give them some loving support," said Nicky, a resident. 

"For Hong Kong, it's a very, very ... it's like a significant growth in the sports industry," said Ivory, another resident. 

"No matter for us, Hong Kong people, or for, you know, other tourists coming and watching our athletes, I think that's a very good thing to sort of to do," said Patrick, a resident.

Fencers Vivian Kong and Edgar Cheung both clinched gold, and swimmer Siobhan Haughey won two bronze medals in the 100 meter freestyle swimming and the 200m as well. That came off the back of silver medals she won in Tokyo four years ago. 

Optimism filled the air, as the city anticipates this success in the Paris Olympics to be a springboard for future success in the Los Angeles Olympics in four years. 

Meanwhile, residents eagerly await the arrival of Olympians from the mainland later this month. 

HK celebrates record Olympic success with athletes parade