Winner
Metamorphosis of the Gobi.
Sha Tin College, Yi Lin Elin Chan, Non-Fiction: Group 3
W
hat is the first image that comes to mind when you hear the words ‘Gobi Desert’?
I have always thought of the Gobi Desert as an amazingly hot region, where
the scorching sun blazes 365 days a year. It is also an exceptionally serene place,
where the stillness of silence can be both comforting and haunting. All you can
see is fine golden sand and shapely sand dunes that stretch into infinity. All that reflects off the
view are rich ancient memories, with its purity and archaeological treasures untouched by the
poisonous elements of modern civilization. Sadly, all this is but a mere picture in my head.
The reality is quite different. It might come as a surprise to many of us that the Gobi Desert
is not filled with sand. It is, as a matter of fact, very rocky with some sand and a lot of rocks
and gravel. The Gobi Desert has a total area of 1,300,000 square kilometers, which covers 33%
of Mongolia and parts of northern and northwestern China. In recent times, the Gobi has been
expanding, which is commonly known as desertification. At a rate of 3,600 square kilometers
per year which equals to almost the size of Kent, Britain swallowing villages along its path and
turning farmers and nomads into environmental refugees. Worse, its rapid growth is also sending
ahead lots and lots of devastating sandstorms. On the other hand, the Gobi region today has a
thriving mining, oil and gas, as well as tourism industry.
The Gobi Desert is no longer the stereotypically poor area we once knew. The Mongolian
government has made substantial efforts in collaborating with international petroleum and
mining companies to convert their presence into economic development for the country. Similarly,
the Chinese government has been actively drilling in its portion of the Gobi Desert in Xinjiang.
As a result of the booming oil and gas drilling industry, the desert region is actually advancing in
its economy, with generally better income, infrastructure, education and healthcare for the people
living there. As the Chinese economy advances, its need for natural resources also increases.
One of the many oil and gas companies with a presence in the Gobi region is China Petroleum &
Chemical Corporation (‘Sinopec’). According to the information listed on its website, Sinopec owns
nine oil and gas exploration blocks in the Tarim basin, with a total exploration area of 28,500
square kilometers. In 2003, its geological reserves are estimated to be at 2.501 billion tons of oil,
while prospectively, there might be an equivalent of 7.7739 billion tons of oil available. Four oil
and gas fields in Tahe, Xidaliya, Yakela, and Dalaoba are under development. There are 648 wells
in total, 536 of which are in production, thousands of Chinese workers had been employed and
given a financially secure future.
Not only is the oil and gas industry bringing great benefits to the Gobi region, but the many
copper and gold mines as well as coal mines that have opened in the Gobi in recent years are also
driving the desert economy. Included among them are Oyu Tolgoi (copper and gold) and Tavan
Tolgoi (coal), which are considered two of the world’s richest mines. Rio Tinto, a world-renowned
Australian mining company, has predicted that 36 million metric tons of copper and 1275 metric
tons of gold to be produced by its mines in Mongolian Gobi for the next 40-50 years, generating
over $8 billion per year. Being a joint venture and with the Mongolian government taking a
share of 71% of the income, this project will account for more than 30% of the Mongolian GDP,
thus giving an obvious boost to the local economy. 87% of the 18,000 workers in the mines are
