"For a long time, I have worked hard to control the yellow sand, and vowed to turn the desert into an oasis. ”
When it comes to deserts, the first thing that comes to our mind is the "loess sky" and "boundless" scenes.
However, the Mu Us Desert is an "exception" in the desert, where you can not only see the oases, but also hear the birds and flowers.
What's even more incredible is that potatoes are grown in this desert.
What's going on here?
The Mu Us Desert without dignity
If you look closely at the map of China, you can see that in the northwest, there is a yellow area visible to the naked eye.
And this is the Mu Us Desert, one of the four major deserts on the mainland.
Unlike other deserts, the Mu Us Desert is not a naturally formed desert, but has been formed after various natural and man-made disasters.
More than 1,000 years ago, it was also a place where people lived and worked in peace and contentment.
The abundant water and grass, and the herds of cattle and sheep are all words that can describe the Mu Us Desert at that time.
Not only that, but the Xiongnu people once settled here, which is enough to prove that the Mu Us Desert was not "full of yellow sand" before.
In fact, behind the formation of the Mu Us Desert, natural factors and human factors are an indispensable part, if there is any point missing, maybe there will be no Mu Us Desert.
According to relevant information, in the Tang Dynasty, with the continuous wars and people's uncontrolled land reclamation, the local ecological environment was seriously damaged.
Various natural factors such as climate change and geological formations have led to loose vegetation and scarce precipitation.
You know, these are actually necessary conditions for the formation of deserts.
When the people who live here find that the environment has deteriorated, they will continue to move outward, and the more they move, the worse the environment will become.
Over time, the Mu Us Desert was formed under such circumstances, and with the continuous relocation of people, its area is also expanding.
It can be said that the Mu Us Desert is completely a "man-made desert", which was created step by step by people.
By the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties, a vast desert had been formed here.
This desert does not have the beautiful scenery of "the desert is lonely and the smoke is straight, and the sun sets on the long river" in Wang Wei's poems, but some are just mud and sand rolled up by the wind, mercilessly beating the hearts of people nearby.
With the continuous expansion of the human range, the area of the Mu Us Desert has directly expanded to 42,200 square kilometers.
And this has created a very big problem for the surrounding residents.
In order to solve this problem, since the beginning of the last century, the mainland has been trying to solve the problems of the Mu Us Desert, such as planting trees and returning farmland to forests.
Dunes turn into power in an oasis
"When the wind blows the yellow sand, it is difficult to open the eyes, the crops and seedlings are incomplete, and the houses are buried and people are removed, and they shake their heads when they see the yellow sand. ”
This was the problem faced by the people who lived near the Mu Us Desert at the time.
And the people in this vicinity, all of whom have been "tormented" by the wind and sand, also expect the Mu Us Desert to disappear.
Shi Guangyin is an "old cadre" who governs the Mu Us Desert, and he used his personal experience to tell everyone that the sand of the Mu Us Desert can really eat people.
When he was seven years old, he was blown away by the wind and sand and flew to other places, and it took him three days to be found by his father dozens of miles away.
And this, in fact, also laid the unswerving dream in Shi Guangyin's heart, that is, "the desert becomes an oasis".
When he grew up, he did not forget his dream and began to devote himself to the matter of managing the desert, and his decision was carried out for decades.
During this period, Shi Guangyin and his team developed various desertification control plans and saplings, and successfully increased the survival rate of saplings to 80%.
And it was also in the process of controlling the sand that Shi Guangyin lost his son.
In 2008, Shi Guangyin's son died in a car accident on the way to transport saplings.
In addition to being sad and sad, Shi Guangyin did not forget about the matter of sand control, and he did not want what happened to him to happen to others again.
After that, Shi Guangyin even held the spirit of "Yugong moving mountains" to govern the Mu Us Desert, and never gave up until the goal was achieved.
In addition to Shi Guangyin, in the process of governing the Mu Us Desert, there are many "heroes" like him, although everyone comes from different places, but they have the same dream.
From the fifties and sixties of the last century to the present, we have never given up on the management of the Mu Us Desert, and there has always been a group of people who have forged ahead.
In April 2020, the People's Daily published an article titled "The Mu Us Desert Will "Disappear" from the Territory of Shaanxi", where the desertification land management rate in Yulin has reached 93.24%, which also means that the Mu Us Desert is about to disappear and be replaced by a green land.
Used by the Chinese to grow potatoes
In the process of managing the Mu Us Desert, people have not only planted many saplings, but also tried to grow crops here, such as "potatoes".
In 2015, there was an article titled "Beautiful Potato Flowers Blooming Gorgeously in the Mu Us Desert", which described the Yulin forest in July, where acres of potato hus were competing to bloom.
From a distance, it gives people a feeling of "sea of flowers".
It is said that after the successful management of the Mu Us Desert, people began to build farms here specifically to grow crops.
In fact, this may also be a knot in people's hearts, the original oasis has become a desert after being destroyed, so after becoming an oasis this time, can it still grow crops?
And the result is to live up to expectations, in the desert of Mu Us Desert, we have successfully planted potatoes.
What's even more incredible is that the yield of these potatoes has reached more than 10,000 catties.
However, after the successful potato harvest, in fact, many people have begun to ridicule the Mu Us Desert, saying that it is the most beautiful and dignified desert in the world.
Other deserts are full of yellow sand and boundless, but the Mu Us Desert can grow crops, which is really unbelievable.
The desert, which was originally called the "forbidden area of life", is now no longer famous.
And behind this incident, in fact, there are also those who work hard, it is precisely because of their daily work that there is a "Mu Us Desert" that has gradually become an oasis.
If you haven't been to the Mu Us Desert in "East Evil and West Poison", then you probably can't see the picture on TV, because the current Mu Us Desert has almost been wiped out by people.
And if we look at the Mu Us Desert from the air, we no longer see yellow, but green.
The achievements we have made in controlling desertification are fundamentally inseparable from the participation of the people, and it is precisely because of this kind of national strength that we have created one "Chinese miracle" after another.
If there is a miracle, it must be Chinese red.
Key Sources:
The original article was published on the official website of the Yulin Municipal People's Government, "Beautiful Potato Flowers Bloom in the Mu Us Desert"2015-08-14
Global Network "Mu Us Desert Will "Disappear" from the Territory of Shaanxi"2020-04-23 19:25
China Youth Daily client "Mu Usu, they hold down the yellow sand with their youth"2023-05-06