Abstract: Northwest China , including Shaanxi , Gansu , Qinghai , Ningxia , and a portion of Inner Mongolian , was and that had been exploited agriculturally for many centuries , It was also an area wit h a fragile environment.On t he one hand ,reclamation and cultivation policy that were implemented and adopted at various levels of administration promoted economic development , On the other hand , these policies caused imbalances in t he environment : dramatic desertification , water and soil erosion , and increased production..The economy fell into poverty again and a vicious circle was formed between economy and environment.Then t his negative impact was not fully realized at the time and it should served as a lesson for contemporary development.