ChineseToday | Grassroots desertification control worker dedicates 19 years to turning desert into oases

Xinhua
23 May 2026, 14:15 GMT+10

(260523) -- ALXA, May 23, 2026 (Xinhua) -- Ma Fenmei prepares for dinner at the Badain Jaran Desert in Alxa Right Banner, the Alxa League of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, May 21, 2026. Ma Fenmei, 52, a resident of Xialamu Gacha (village) of Mandala Sumu (town), has been working on desertification control in the Badain Jaran Desert for nineteen years.

About 30 years ago, the spring wind in the area was so severe that local people could barely open their eyes. In 2006, taking advantage of grazing ban and desertification control subsidy policies, Ma sold all the livestock and invested the money in planting saxaul trees in the desert. Every year from March to August, she lives in the desert, focusing on cultivating saxaul plants.

Initially, strong wind and heavy sand always buried the saxaul seedlings planted the day after they were planted. Ma kept replanting them. Over the course of one year, she managed to plant more than 500 mu (about 33.33 hectares) of saxaul trees. Now, with her rich planting experience and the promotion of sand control technologies, she has achieved a 90 pct survival rate for her saxaul plantations, covering a total area of more than 200,000 mu (about 13,333 hectares). The saxaul trees have gradually blocked shifting sand, turning the desert into vast oases.

Alxa Right Banner has launched support policies to encourage farmers and herders to cultivate saxaul plants, making significant progress in the ecological restoration of the Badain Jaran Desert. "If people treat the desert well, the desert will reward them," said Ma. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)

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