Volunteers build green future on sandy land in NW China

Volunteers insert shovels into the designated area after work at the Zhonglin ecological public welfare forest base of Minqin County, northwest China's Gansu province, April 21, 2026.

Minqin, sandwiched between China's third- and fourth-largest deserts -- the Badain Jaran and the Tengger, has 94 percent of its land area covered by desert and desertified land. As a result, it is one of China's major sources of sandstorms.

Confronted with pressing survival challenges and the daunting task of desert control, Minqin County has initiated multiple tree-planting campaigns since 2024. Volunteers from all over China came to the county's Zhonglin ecological public welfare forest base to participate in voluntary tree-planting activities.

From the beginning of this year, the base has gathered more than 30,000 volunteers in Minqin's sandy expanse. To date, they have planted over 1 million drought-resistant saplings such as saxaul, making a green promise in the yellow sands. (Xinhua/Lang Bingbing)