Land, water, life.
A field story of ecological restoration in the Qaidam Basin. From open sand to planted shrubs, wetlands and working fields.
Open sand. Restoration underway.
Unrestored ground and restoration in progress in the Qaidam Basin. A landscape comparison from different viewpoints, not a matched before-and-after sequence.
Unrestored desert site · Qaidam Basin
Restoration in progress · Qaidam Basin
Landscape under restoration · Qaidam Basin
Planting in sandy ground · Qaidam Basin
Shrubs across the sands · Qaidam Basin
Vegetation and habitat · Qaidam Basin
A late-summer meadow · Qaidam Basin
Meadow vegetation · Qaidam Basin
Cistanche in the field · Qaidam Basin
Across the wider basin
Open dunes and sand checkerboards, photographed during a journey through the Qaidam Basin. These observations come from other sites in the region, outside the project site.
Open dunes in the Qaidam Basin. A regional landscape observation.
Sand checkerboards across dunes. Observed during a field journey in the Qaidam Basin; outside the project site.
A ground-level view of checkerboard barriers in the Qaidam Basin. Regional observation, outside the project site.
Water across the seasons
Winter ice, open channels and late-summer wetlands. These photographs record the water present across different field visits.
Winter waterways · Qaidam Basin
Late-summer wetland · Qaidam Basin
Along the water · Qaidam Basin
Water channels through the landscape · Qaidam Basin
Wetland vegetation · Qaidam Basin
A lake among the dunes · Qaidam Basin
A late-summer stream · Qaidam Basin
Where ice meets open water · Qaidam Basin
Life, seen up close
Swans beside winter ice, a dragonfly at rest, and pastoral life across the wider landscape. A collection of field observations, from distant flocks to small details.
Swans at the edge of winter ice · Qaidam Basin
Birds in the landscape · Qaidam Basin
Sheep along the shore · Qaidam Basin
Camels among shrubs · Qaidam Basin
Camels in winter · Qaidam Basin
A dragonfly at rest. A close observation from the July field archive.
Fields and livelihoods
Goji rows and shelterbelts give way to the details of daily farm work: ripening berries, other crops and the people bringing in the harvest.
Rows of goji in late summer · Qaidam Basin
Fields and shelterbelts · Qaidam Basin
Goji berries ripen on the branches · Qaidam Basin
Gathering the harvest · Qaidam Basin
Sorting the harvest · Qaidam Basin
Cultivated fields · Qaidam Basin
A closer look at the crops · Qaidam Basin
Field films
Brief field recordings of water, wildlife and sand checkerboards across the Qaidam Basin.
Swans in flight · Qaidam Basin
Sand checkerboards · regional observation, outside the project site.
Flowing water · Qaidam Basin
Across the landscape · Qaidam Basin