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Volunteers from Hunan and Jiangxi provinces dig a pit for water storage at the Zhonglin ecological public welfare forest base of Minqin county, northwest China's Gansu province, April 20, 2026. [Photo/Xinhua]
Minqin, sandwiched between China's third- and fourth-largest deserts -- the Badain Jaran and the Tengger, has 94% 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.
