In March 2020, Mamatjan, who no longer grows cotton, came to work at a freshwater fish farm near the Lop Lake on the strength of recommendation from a friend. Lop Lake is a natural lake formed by the water of the Tarim River in Yuli county. It is located in the northeast of the Taklimakan Desert, also known as "Sea of Death". Chu Ningning, head of the freshwater fish farm, said that with the water transfer project to the lower reaches of the Tarim River, the ecology of Lop Lake is getting better and better, and the number of fish and crabs in the farm is gradually increasing.
