What is a desert? It is a place of desolation and depression. It is full of challenges created by nature. A great number of people got lost in deserts, and were buried by sand.

However, we see hope in the Thar Desert. The Thar coalfield, covering an area of 9,000 square kilometers, has become the largest open-pit brown coal mine in Asia and the seventh largest open-pit brown coal mine in the world with the coal reserves of 173.6 billion tons.

April 20, 2015 saw an unprecedentedly grand occasion in Islamabad, Pakistan. President Xi Jinping paid his first state visit to Pakistan. It was a long-awaited, high-profile visit. Eight FC-1 fighter jets escorted President Xi’s plane into Pakistani airspace, like a flock of wild geese soaring in the sky.

The two heads of state witnessed the successful conclusion of the loan agreement for the Thar Coal Block II coal mine and power plant project in Pakistan in the grand and solemn venue that night. At that moment, CMEC personnel's face was filled with a happy smile in the spotlight. CMEC finally ushered the dawn of victory with five years of unremitting efforts.

In 2011, Li Kan took on the heavy responsibility of reviving the Pakistani market and threw himself into the project in Pakistan without hesitation. He was 30 years old that year. Facing the poor coal quality and deep burial of the coalfield, capital shortage of the government and the owner's lack of experience, he was totally at sea at the beginning of the project. But, he didn't give up the project opportunity, and finally obtained the EPC contract of the project after three years of follow-up and development, four rounds of bid submission and several rounds of negotiation together with his young team. After experiencing countless trials and tribulations in the desert, CMEC finally saw its desert flower in full blossom.

You Biyu came to Thar from Shenzhen in March 2017. She said, she has to go out into the world in her prime. But, later she said that she likes the tranquility of Thar, the project team here and the greetings from her teammates in the morning. Thus she strengthened her resolve to be dedicated to Thar.

In 2016, Engineer Wang Sixin had worked on the site of Thar project for a period of time. He said that he couldn't forget the yellow sand all over the sky when he first arrived at Thar. He witnessed the driving of the first pile into the earth. Now a 100-meter-high chimney has been built. He is not only a builder, but also a witness. He clearly remembers the greeting of local people. They smiled at him and gave a thumbs-up to him. In his heart, Thar is more of a monument than of coal mine and power plant!

In 2015, Wang Yang, a college graduate who just joined the company, went to the site of Thar project after finishing the training of the company. He said, the region features high temperature and less rainfall all year round. The highest temperature can reach 57 degrees centigrade. As there was no overlay facility at the beginning of the project, he had to conduct the geological exploration and leveling in the hot sun. Because he sweated a lot, he didn't want to go to the bathroom even after drinking two large bottles of water. The project schedule was very tight, so he didn't dare to slack off even for a moment. He kept working after a short break. Therefore, Wang Yang has an unprecedented record of working for 100 consecutive days. Now, he becomes more mature and steady.

These people fought shoulder by shoulder against high temperature, fierce wind, poisonous snakes and various diseases, braved difficulties, and made outstanding achievements in security, quality and progress of the project. Because of their efforts, the Thar project has been ahead of schedule comprehensively now, showing the striking "China's speed" to the world. The project has received high praise from the owner in Pakistan, the Pakistani government and the Chinese embassy in Pakistan. The Prime Minister of Pakistan and Chief Minister of Sindh, Pakistan visited the project site successively and spoke highly of the project!

In the Chinese Spring Festival of 2018, 43 employees in the frontline of the Thar project in the Thar Desert thousands of kilometers away from the motherland organized a series of activities, such as putting up antithetical couplets, sending New Year blessing stickers, hanging lanterns, and holding the Spring Festival Gala on site. Though the dumplings and noodles they made were not of uniform size, the male employees became highly skilled chefs in front of the lens. It seems that they were telling us that they are not only technical elites, but also big chefs who can create "A Bite of Thar".

While bringing the funds, technologies, equipment, culture and traditional virtues of China to the Thar Desert, the site project department has actively fulfilled its social responsibilities, benefited the people of Thar and carried out a lot of measures for livelihood improvement. As of now, the site project department has provided training to local people and created more than 1,000 jobs for them. Additionally, since the visit and investigation indicated poor medical conditions and low level of education in the Thar region, the site project department has made preparations for the setting up of a medical clinic in the village named Bitra near the power plant, in the hope of improving the medical environment for local villagers; and built a playground for the children in village, so as to make a contribution to local education. The site project department hopes that these actions can not only bring benefits to local people, but also deepen the friendship between China and Pakistan and highlight the image of the company.

You can see such warnings posted on the project site as "If you see my daddy working unsafely, please stop him". These warnings are for all people. Everyone must be safe. It is a guarantee provided by the company to all people. If the colleagues on the project site are gardeners watering the flower, the company and project department are the most powerful backing of them. The desert flower can bloom fully because Thar has been integrated into our life deeply.