HOHHOT -- Chinese meteorologists claim to haveidentified the "routes" used by winds that cause sandstorms in China.

A ten-year research project found that sandstorms affecting China were closely related to the cold front from Siberia, said Kang Ling, deputy head of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regional Meteorological Station.

The front swirls through large desert areas, including the Gobi Desert, often combining with cyclones in Mongolia and bringing sandstorms to China, said Kang.

Kang said the front arrived in China via three routes.

On the east, the front runs southward through central and eastern Mongolia, affecting northeast China, central and eastern Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Hebei Provinces and areas to the south of these regions.

The central route goes southward through central and western Mongolia, affecting central and western Inner Mongolia and eastern areas of northwest China, central and southern parts of north China and regions to the south of these areas.

To the west, the front blows southward through western Mongolia and northeast Kazakhstan, affecting northeastern part of Xinjiang, the westernmost region of China, north China and areas to the south of these regions.

Kang said the routes were exactly the same passages through which sandstorms came to affect China.

Sandstorms influencing Beijing and Tianjin came mainly through the central route, which runs through a desert area in Inner Mongolia and is the closest route to Beijing and Tianjin. "Sandstorms from the central route are the worst for Beijing and Tianjin areas," Kang said.

He said some of the sandstorms originated in China and others came from abroad.

"Most of the sandstorms influencing Beijing and Tianjin areas this year came from abroad and mainly through the central route," Kang said.

Scientists from the China Meteorological Administration, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regional Meteorological Bureau and Japanese meteorologists have participated in the research program. They used satellite, remote sensing, radar and other high technologies to study the source regions, routes and their influences on Beijing.

They suggested that Beijing should establish a shelterbelt forest, and plant more trees to curb desertification in Inner Mongolia.

Scientists suggested that China should work with Mongolia to draft a long-term plan to prevent and curb the occurrence of sandstorms originating from the desert areas of southern Mongolia.

To date, China has invested 55.8 billion yuan (US$6.97 billion) in projects, including tree planting, designed to prevent and curb sandstorms in Beijing and Tianjin areas.