A researcher collects sample of snow cover in Sa'erwuzike Village in Kaxajar township of Zhaosu County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Jan. 18, 2019. A nine-member research team with an average age under 30 from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography under the Chinese Academy of Sciences started a research on snow cover on the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang. Snow cover on the Tianshan Mountains is an important source of water resources. Snowmelt provides an abundant water supply for river flow in this area and also affects the ecological system of agricultural and animal husbandry production in the downstream oasis. (Xinhua/Bai Jiali)