NPC deputy spends life in sand control, shedding light on greening efforts

In the arduous battle against desertification, Shi Guangyin, 72, Party chief of Shilisha village of Dingbian county in Yulin city, Northwest China's Shaanxi province, has dedicated over 40 years of his life to combating sandstorms and establishing a "Green Great Wall" in desolate lands.

In Yulin, a key area in China's Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program that was initiated by the Chinese government in the 1970s to improve the ecological environment in northern China, Shi, a deputy to the Yulin Municipal People's Congress, has led his community in planting over 53 million trees across 250,000 mu (17,000 hectares) of barren land, transforming 350,000 mu of land into lush greenery.

Desertification poses a significant global ecological challenge that affects human survival and development. China is one of the most severely affected countries. Historically, Yulin has suffered extensive ecological degradation, with vast forests being decimated and barren land merging with the Mu Us Desert. In the 100 years prior to the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Yulin saw six towns, 412 villages, and 2.1 million-mu farmland swallowed by drifting sands.