In a small restaurant, Li Jiansheng was busy flash-frying vegetables grown 300 km away. More than two decades ago, he left his hometown in Sichuan Province, more than 2,000 km away, to start a new life here.

When he first started to serve tables in the restaurant, Tazhong was a dusty, barren land with no greenery at all. Over 20 years, he has seen saxaul and rose willow grow and flourish. He has turned his tiny home into a two-storey house. Now, he is the owner of the restaurant.

Outside Li's kitchen, people dig into spicy Sichuan dishes and meaty Xinjiang fare and wash them down with a beer or glasses of erguotou, a strong liquor made from sorghum. As night falls, the sound of chatting customers, sizzling pans, bubbling pots and clinking tableware fill the sweet, smokey air.