Control -alkali- to welcome -rich- scenery. CCCC Road Construction helps Zhaoyuan saline-alkali land improvement achieve results
In the golden autumn of October, the aroma of rice fills the air. Along the rural roads of Daqing City in Heilongjiang Province, villagers stop to eagerly await the crop yield results from the expert team of the Northeast Institute of Geography and Agricultural Ecology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. After measuring the area, harvesting with machinery, removing impurities, and testing moisture content, the experts announce, “The yield meets the improved standards!” As soon as the news is shared, smiles spread among the workers involved, while the villagers express their excitement: “The land has improved, and the rice yields will increase year by year. Our future looks brighter!”
**Transforming Saline-Alkali Land: A New Direction in Agriculture**
“We are thrilled and proud to hear that our saline-alkali land project—the first in Heilongjiang Province to be initiated, transformed, and yield results all in the same year—has achieved the required standards!” exclaimed Wu Yue, the project leader from China Communications Construction Company, who has both built and witnessed the results of the saline-alkali restoration. Seeing the formerly barren saline-alkali land transforming into a sea of golden grains has significantly boosted the project team’s confidence in ongoing soil improvement efforts.
Saline-alkali land is a crucial reserve for arable land, particularly in Zhaoyuan County, which is a major distribution area for this type of land in the southwestern part of Heilongjiang Province. To ensure national food security, local authorities are continuously developing these agricultural reserves and implementing comprehensive saline-alkali land management. China Communications Construction has innovated by forming a collaborative project team with China Communications Investment and other units, where the road construction division takes charge of land management tasks. Since the beginning of the year, the project has focused on large-scale management of approximately 4,800 acres of saline-alkali land.
Once completed, the project will increase arable land area, boost grain production, enhance farmers’ living conditions, promote agricultural modernization, and support diversified rural economic development—significantly contributing to the establishment of a new socialist countryside.
**Implementing Science-Backed Strategies to Overcome Challenges**
In April 2024, the project kicked off. The team adopted a comprehensive approach to improvement and operations to avoid common issues like ineffective long-term results and recurring secondary salinization associated with traditional single-engineering methods. They opted for quality improvement units and collaborated with specialized research teams to continuously summarize and explore techniques and experiences in saline-alkali land management.
To achieve optimal soil improvement, the project team from China Communications Construction meticulously crafted a reform plan following the “suitable cultivation for the land” principle. They employed traditional agronomic methods such as tilling, leveling land, applying soil enhancers, and rotary tilling, while integrating intelligent information technology. Through local practices and independent innovation, they have begun to establish an innovative management technology system for saline-alkali land in the Songnen Plain, providing a model and guidance for broader regional applications.
**A Collaborative Approach to Combat Saline-Alkali Issues and Look Forward to a Bountiful Harvest**
“Before the improvements, the soil salinity in these areas exceeded 5%, and the pH was above 9.5, categorizing it as severely saline-alkali land—truly the ‘toughest terrain,'” shared Yang Xuping, the chairman of the People’s Congress in Xinzhan Town, as she stood beside the improved land. “After the first year of comprehensive management, we’ve observed a 15% reduction in soil salinity, and this year’s initial harvest has met the standard. Next year’s results are bound to be even better!”
“We highly appreciate that the first-year improvements have already met the yield standards, and we’d like to thank the dedicated frontline personnel and the research teams for their hard work throughout this process,” stated Wang Lizhi, the Party Secretary of Xinzhan Town.
As a vital member of China Communications Construction’s first “cultivated land balance compensation” investment team, China Communications Road and Bridge continues to embrace its responsibility to the nation. The team actively integrates superior resources, collaborates with more research institutions and agricultural experts, and deeply explores more efficient, eco-friendly, and sustainable saline-alkali land improvement solutions. They are forging partnerships with government, agricultural enterprises, and farmers’ cooperatives to enhance land quality, stimulate rural industry revitalization, and create a diversified rural economic development model that integrates modern agriculture, product processing, and eco-tourism—transforming saline-alkali land into a hopeful foundation for rural revitalization and establishing new growth points for corporate productivity and the appreciation of state assets.
