According to local government, the paulownia is resistant to saline and alkali soils, can grow roots in sand, and blooms with luxuriant lichens and leaves, all of which make them an ideal choice to block wind and sand.

In modern times, He said, the earliest domestic industrialists emerged in the basin, including textile pioneer Zhang Jian (1853-1926), alkali industry founder Fan Xudong (1883-1945) and the Rong clan, which was also prominent in the textile industry as well as in flour production.