Gaoxigou Village, Yinzhou Street, Mizhi County, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, is full of green. In the spring season, the east wind blows everywhere and the grass grows. On the Wuliang Suhai Lake in Inner Mongolia, the water is shining and the sound of birds fills your ears.

Source: People's Daily - People's Daily Overseas Edition

grass squares stuck in the Tengger Desert in Ningxia. Photographed by Xinhua News Agency reporter Feng Kaihua

Qixing Lake Scenic Area in Kubuqi, Inner Mongolia. Xinhua News Agency reporter Jin Liang quick photo

Gaoxigou Village, Yinzhou Street, Mizhi County, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, is full of green. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Tao Ming

In the spring season, the east wind blows everywhere and the grass blooms. On the Wuliang Suhai Lake in Inner Mongolia, the water is shining and the sound of birds fills your ears. The mute swans also flew back as promised. They played in the water together, sometimes dancing and sometimes singing loudly. Wuliangsuhai is a microcosm of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region's comprehensive strengthening of ecological environmental protection and governance and the continuous improvement of the ecological environment. Sand control in the upper reaches, water control in the lake area, and restoration of grassland vegetation in the mountainous areas have made this place a paradise for more than 260 species of birds.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, my country's ecological and environmental protection has achieved remarkable results, and the construction of a beautiful China has taken major steps. Beautiful pictures of "green mountains without ink for thousands of years, green water without strings and thousands of strings Guqin " are slowly unfolding. At present, China has successfully curbed the expansion of desertification. The areas of desertified and desertified land have continued to shrink at an average annual rate of 2,424 square kilometers and 1,980 square kilometers respectively. The ecological conditions of sandy areas have generally improved, and a historic transformation has been achieved from "sands advancing and people retreating" to "greens advancing and deserts receding". The harmonious coexistence of man and nature has become a strong foundation for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and China has become a new benchmark for global desert ecological management.

Scientific Management

- Achieving Great Ecological Changes

In ancient China, the desert witnessed the heroic sentiment of "the yellow sand will wear golden armor in a hundred battles, and the Loulan will never be returned until it is destroyed", and carried the sorrow of "thousands of miles away from the mountain, and the tears will fill the face of the people".

"Desert is not a disease, desertification is a disease. Desertification is called a cancer of the earth. It must be cured!" Lu Qi, director of the Sand Forest Center of the Chinese Academy of Forestry and director of the Desertification Research Institute, said in an interview with this newspaper. One of the most important manifestations of desertification in our country is land desertification. Desertification prevention and control and land greening are major measures to curb land degradation in northern my country and are my country's national actions to deal with desertification.

Lu Qi calls himself a "professional sand expert". He vividly compares desert control to a doctor's visit: "It is necessary to form a systematic treatment plan, and there must be a follow-up rehabilitation plan after being cured and discharged."

my country's "desert control people" have passed down the fire from generation to generation, innovating with the old, creating a green barrier with scientific management, and achieving great ecological changes.

looks back at the history of scientific desertification control in New China, which is basically in sync with the construction of the Republic. Lu Qi said that more than 70 years of exploration and practice can be roughly divided into three stages: the initial stage of national mobilization and march into the desert; the development stage driven by national will and projects; and the advancement stage of scientific governance and speed up and efficiency improvement.

In the early 1950s, our country started the planning and exploration of desertification control nationwide, and the work of desertification prevention and control was carried out steadily. The State Council has established a leading group for desertification control, established sand-fixation and afforestation experimental stations in sandy areas such as Zhangwu County in Liaoning and Minqin County in Gansu, established a northern Shaanxi protective forest farm in Yulin, Shaanxi, and implemented the first aerial seeding afforestation and grass planting test. It has continuously accumulated experience in desertification control and improved desertification control technology.

In 1958, the world's first "desert railway" Baolan Railway that passed through tall flowing sand dunes was completed, crossing the Tengger Desert six times in Zhongwei, Ningxia. Among them, the Shapotou section is the longest through the desert. Along the way, the sand dunes are exposed and the vegetation coverage is extremely low. The track is often invaded by quicksand.

In the early stages of sand fixation and control, many sand fixation methods were tried, such as pebble paving, asphalt mixed sand, and straw mat paving, but they were all buried by wind and sand. During one of his spare time at work, a forest farm employee dug the words "Man can conquer nature" and "Zhongwei Sand-Fixing Forest Farm" into the desert. He was overjoyed to find that the square-shaped words were not buried by the sand. After repeated experiments,

scientific researchers tied wheat straw or rice straw into a 1 meter × 1 meter square shape on the surface of the flowing sand dune to form a network structure. They are like guards in the sea of ​​sand, building a grass wall to imprison the quicksand. The "wheat straw grid" sand fixing method has gradually become famous all over the world and is known as the "Chinese Rubik's Cube".Based on the "wheat straw grid" technology, a "five-belt-in-one" railway windbreak and sand-fixation system consisting of sand-fixing fire protection belts, irrigation and afforestation belts, grass barrier plant belts, frontier sand-blocking belts and sand-sealing and grass-cultivating belts was formally formed. "Every inch of grass covers the wind." Since then, the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway has never been blocked by quicksand in the more than 60 years since its opening. It is like a winding river, stringing the green of life into the desert.

In 1978, the State Council officially approved the construction project of the "Three Norths" protective forest system, which was a milestone in the history of ecological construction in my country; since 2000, a number of major national ecological projects such as the Conversion of Farmland to Forests and Grassland Project and the Beijing-Tianjin Sandstorm Source Control Project have been launched, opening a new stage of desertification control driven by major national ecological projects.

Lu Qi said that our country is the first country in the world to legislate specifically for desertification prevention and control, which is also a great practice in the history of desertification prevention and control in the world. On January 1, 2002, the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Desertification Prevention and Control" was officially implemented, and desertification prevention and control work has entered the legal track. For more than 20 years, policy documents such as the National Plan for Desertification Prevention and Control (2011-2020), the Guiding Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Scientific Greening, and the Plan for the Protection and Restoration System of Desertified Land have scientifically and effectively guided desertification prevention and control, as well as vegetation protection and restoration in desertified areas.

During the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" period, my country's desert ecosystem protection and desertification control achieved remarkable results, with a total of 10.978 million hectares of desertification prevention and control tasks completed. The recently released "Bulletin on China's Land Greening Status in 2021" shows that in 2021, 3.6 million hectares of afforestation was completed across the country, 3.0667 million hectares of grassland were planted and improved, and 1.44 million hectares of desertification and rocky desertification land were controlled. The "2021 National Ecological Meteorological Bulletin " released by the China Meteorological Administration shows that in 2021, the ecological quality of vegetation in the country will be the best since 2000, the amount of grassland grass production in the country will be the highest since 2000, and the surface ecology of most of the northern desertification areas will continue to improve.

Combating desertification is a common challenge facing mankind. From the submission of the first national implementation action plan in 1995 to the successful hosting of the 13th Conference of the Parties (COP13) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in 2017, China's desertification prevention and control work has successfully achieved a "triple jump" from initially following to becoming an international leader, providing a model for desertification control that can be used as a reference for the world, and continuing to extend the green that symbolizes vitality.

Afforestation and greening

——Inheriting the spirit of struggle

In the long yellow sand, seeking green living space is not only a material struggle, but also a spiritual confrontation.

Holding plows to dig ditches, bending down to lay grass, wielding shovels to fill sand... Entering March, spring sand suppression activities have started one after another in Wuwei , Zhangye and other places along the desert areas of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province. Party members, cadres, volunteers, and forestry workers participated in the work, and they were very busy. Everyone competed and competed with each other. After the work, rows of neat grass squares were extended to control sandstorms and protect fresh greenery.

In October 2021, the Department of Land and Space Ecological Restoration of the Ministry of Natural Resources released the "China Ecological Restoration Typical Case Collection" to promote the "China Plan" for win-win ecology and development to the world. "Gulang Babu Sand Forest Farm Desertification Prevention and Control" was selected as a typical case.

Babusha is located on the southern edge of the Tengger Desert. It was once the largest sandstorm outlet in Gulang County, Wuwei City, Gansu Province. Sweeping sand swept away farmlands and villages.

In 1981, as the frontline of the "Three Norths" protective forest, Gulang County began to control the desert, and tried out the policy of "government subsidies, individual contracting, and whoever manages it owns it" for Babusha.

The yellow sand is vast and not a blade of grass grows. Controlling the desert is not easy! "Count me in for desert control!" Shi Man, the old party secretary of the Yiquan Brigade, was the first to stand up. Immediately afterwards, He Falin, Zhang Runyuan, Guo Chaoming, Luo Yuankui and Cheng Hai also joined. In the form of joint household contracting, they established the Babusha Collective Forest Farm to protect their homeland and vowed to turn the desert into an oasis!

"One step at a time, a sapling and a ladle of water." The old men worked tirelessly to plant saplings. When he was tired, he would fall asleep and let the sun scorch him and bite him; when he was hungry, he would use a stone to prop up a pot and boil water to make steamed buns to eat. Unexpectedly, after the strong wind, not even half of the saplings survived. The six old men did not lose heart.They tried again and again, failed again and again, and started over again... They asked for advice and groped, and finally found that burying wheat straw around the tree nest could fix the sand and protect the saplings when the wind blew. So they turned to the method of "a tree, a handful of grass, to hold down the sand to prevent wind damage" to fight against the yellow sand again.

Slowly, the survival rate of saplings has improved. The green spots bloomed like stars in the sky.

The four seasons come and go, the sun and the moon rise and fall. The heads of six old men turned white. They used their sweat to make 42,000 acres of desert green, and the surrounding land and villages and towns were protected. The old men once agreed: "No matter how hard and tiring it is, one person from each family must be responsible for controlling the eight steps of desertification."

The pace of desertification control is non-stop. Three generations of desert control workers in the forest farm have continued their efforts and have completed more than 200,000 acres of sand control and afforestation, and the area of ​​​​enclosure management and protection has reached 430,000 acres. The desert around Babu Sand has been basically controlled.

The greenery here continues to expand, and Babusha has also entered a new stage of improving quality and efficiency. Flowers sway in the wind, and chickens roam around in search of delicious food. Today's Babusha is full of lush trees and radiant life.

In Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, Shi Guangyin also wrote a magnificent chapter of persistent greening and afforestation in the yellow sand.

"I will only do one thing in my life: control sand!" This is Shi Guangyin's ambition after experiencing the dangers of sandstorms since he was a child. It is also a promise that an old party member has worked hard to fulfill to the party throughout his life.

On June 29, 2021, in the Golden Hall of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Shi Guangyin, a 48-year-old party member, slowly walked onto the podium and wore the " July 1st Medal ", which represents the party's highest honor.

Shi Guangyin was born in Dingbian County, Yulin City, located on the southern edge of the Mu Us Desert. For decades, he led the masses to control desertification and afforestation on the southern edge of the Mu Us Desert, making outstanding contributions to completely changing the harsh environment of "advancing sand and people retreating".

99% of the desertified land in Shaanxi Province is concentrated in Yulin City. In Yulin , there was once "a rolling flow of yellow sand, and nine out of ten plows failed to harvest". In 1968, when Shi Guangyin was selected as the team leader of Getatao Village in Haiziliang Commune in Bian County, he led the masses to afforestation 14,000 acres in three years, giving Haiziliang its first oasis.

In 1984, riding on the spring breeze of reform and opening up, Shi Guangyin established a sand control company, contracting to control more than 3,000 acres of barren sand.

has insufficient funds, what should I do? Shi Guangyin sold the 84 sheep and 1 mule he raised at home, and his fellow villagers scraped together enough money for saplings and plunged into the vast sea of ​​sand. Starting in 1986, Shi Guangyin led the villagers to fight three times in one of the largest areas of deserted sand in Haiziliang - "Langwo Sand".

The difficulty of combating desertification is beyond imagination. Everyone drank the muddy water from the sand pit, ate dried corn buns, and even gnawed on poplar bark. After a bad start, they were defeated again... In the spring of 1988, Shi Guangyin led the villagers to fight against "Langwo Sand" for the third time. They used the newly learned "barrier sand control method" to work and sleep wherever they went. They finally won, and 90% of the saplings survived.

In the past few decades, Shi Guangyin and his fellow villagers planted more than 53 million trees (clumps) on 250,000 acres of barren sand and alkali shoals, and repeatedly reafforested an area of ​​350,000 acres, building a "Green Great Wall." Today, Shaanxi has become the first province in my country to completely "tether" mobile sand, creating a miracle of desert control in the world.

In the history of desertification control in China, behind every touch of green there is a story of struggle. In Lingwu, Ningxia, Wang Youde led his employees to plant 600,000 acres of trees, effectively preventing the southward and westward expansion of the Mu Us Desert; at Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm, three generations of foresters irrigated the world's largest artificial forest sea... In the yellow sand and under the sky, greenery is spreading, and the spirit continues.

Turning sand into gold

——The new look of Huangsha Comic Exhibition

Under the sky, photovoltaic panels are spread out neatly, forming a magnificent ocean. When the wind blows, the greenery under the photovoltaic panels surges and becomes full of life. Looking around, I saw a desert of yellow desert. This is the Kubuqi photovoltaic desert control demonstration base in Inner Mongolia.

"I never thought that the desert would become so beautiful!" In September 2021, the 8th Kubuqi International Desert Forum opened. A foreign guest who participated in the forum came to the base and sighed after visiting the base, "Everything you can see is photovoltaic panels, and there will be planting underneath. Potatoes, vegetables and other crops, all this is incredible!"

Using abundant light resources, Kubuqi created a new model of photovoltaic desertification control, which not only achieved desert land control, but also delivered clean energy, becoming a green electricity base and "vegetable basket" in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.

Kubuqi, Mongolian means "string on the bow". The Kubuqi Desert is like a bowstring, stretching across the south bank of the Yellow River in the northwest of Ordos City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It used to have sparse vegetation and rampant sand and dust, and was known as the "Sea of ​​Death."

After years of treatment, the vegetation coverage of the Kubuqi Desert has reached 53%, precipitation has increased significantly, sand and dust weather has significantly reduced, and the overall trend is improving.

In 2014, the Kubuqi Desert Ecological Management Area was designated as a "Global Desert Ecological Economic Demonstration Area" by the United Nations Environment Program . Kubuqi Desert management has become a green business card of China.

The increasingly friendly ecological environment has also promoted the development of local desert tourism. Local people built yurts, barbecue tents, and ran Mujiale, and their days became more and more prosperous. Kubuqi people have transformed from pure ecological construction to simultaneous ecological construction and ecological economy development, writing legends of "turning sand into gold" one after another.

On the land of China, green fruits are everywhere, and the yellow sand of the past has taken on a new look. In Zhangye, Gansu, based on the ecological construction of sandy areas and water-saving irrigation as the premise, the forest and fruit industry in sandy areas is developed; in Shannan, Tibet, enterprises have been introduced in recent years, adopting the "ecological desertification control + industrial development + driving income increase" model to implement modern agriculture and animal husbandry demonstration bases and other projects on the north bank of the Yarlung Zangbo River, , creating more than 1,000 jobs...

Desertification prevention and control has made continuous and lasting contributions. Lu Qi said that the strategy for combating desertification in the new era should be oriented to 2035, align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and serve national needs. It can be summarized as a "24-character policy": giving priority to protection, developing green development, adapting measures to local conditions, implementing classified policies, systematic governance, and overall enhancement.