Police suspect a body found in the desert of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to be that of a man from Sichuan province who went missing more than 50 years ago.

The corpse, which is about 1.75 meters tall, was uncovered near the Lop Nor basin at the juncture of Xinjiang and Qinghai province early last month by a group of rock collectors.

It was found lying face up, clad in blue overalls and cotton-padded trousers.