In the vast desert of northwest China, a place called Mu Us hides a small village that has been almost wiped out by the sand, where strong winds carry grains of sand like sharp swords through every corner.
Early one morning in 1985, 20-year-old Yin Yuzhen followed her father and sat on a dilapidated donkey cart full of belongings, crossed dozens of miles of loess slopes, and came here to become Bai Wanxiang's wife.
The joy of being married is quickly replaced by an unprecedented challenge of survival. How harsh is the environment here, and can Yin Yuzhen adapt to it?
In the spring of 1985, Yin Yuzhen and her father, accompanied by a donkey carrying daily necessities, left their hometown of Dongkeng Village in Jingbian County and set off for the home of her future husband Bai Wanxiang.
The journey traverses the undulating loess slopes, and the dusty paths seem to foreshadow the circumstances of life she is about to face.
When they arrived at Bai Wanxiang's home on the edge of Mu Usu, they were greeted by a scene of yellow sand and sparse bushes.
Bai Wanxiang's residence is an earthen cave surrounded by heavily eroded land, far from being comparable to Yin Yuzhen's home in Dongkeng.
The furniture was limited to the most basic pieces of woodwork, and even the windows were only a few small ones, which were not enough to keep out the dust blowing outside.
On the first day of the wedding, when night fell, the dust was swept into the house by the wind, and fine grains of sand were scattered all over the newly made beds and rudimentary furniture.
Yin Yuzhen and Bai Wanxiang had to get up from time to time and sweep the sand that had entered the house. Yin Yuzhen was exhausted by the continuous cleanup, and the siege of the hut by the sand and dust seemed to be never-ending.
In the days that followed, Yin Yuzhen wept and tried to adapt to her new living environment, and she and Bai Wanxiang went to a well far away to carry water, and then carefully transported it home with a worn-out bucket.
Every day, she and Bai Wanxiang had to repair the holes in the house in an attempt to block further sand and dust. Tears flowed for 7 days, Yin Yuzhen completely accepted her fate, and she decided to take root in this desert.
While she was drying her laundry outside, a strong gust of wind blew and stained the clean laundry with sand again.
Yin Yuzhen stood there, watching the clothes she had worked so hard to wash turn gray again, feeling the harshness of this land.
She exchanged a helpless look with Bai Wanxiang and started a new round of cleaning.
After the cleanup, she stepped out of the house and stood on the edge of the vast desert, witnessing the sand and dust wreaking havoc on the land.
The Mu Us desert continues to encroach on their living space, which makes Yin Yuzhen deeply aware that their lives will not be improved without more effective measures.
After a few days of hard work and continuous sand and dust attacks, Yin Yuzhen decided to discuss countermeasures with Bai Wanxiang. They discussed the possibility of planting trees and shrubs around the area to fix the sandy soil.
Yin Yuzhen started her tree planting program with the assistance of Bai Wanxiang. When the first rays of the morning sun shone on the desert of Mu Usu, the couple had already begun their day's work.
Using the common local plant Artemisia sativa, she skillfully weaves it into a lattice shape, a shrub with deep roots that allows it to survive well in sandy soil, while helping to hold the surrounding sand in place and prevent it from drifting away in the wind.
Yin Yuzhen and Bai Wanxiang worked together to dig the sand and lay the woven artemisia lattice on the ground. Subsequently, they planted carefully selected saplings into these lattices.
In this process, the two must ensure that the roots of the sapling are in close contact with the soil to facilitate the growth and stability of the sapling.
After each row of saplings, Yin Yuzhen will cover the roots of the trees with old cloth or stones to reduce the evaporation of water.
Due to the family's financial constraints, in order to buy these saplings, Yin Yuzhen once returned to her parents' home and borrowed money from relatives and friends.
Every time she returned, she took some extra saplings and buckets with her and resolutely returned to the land that was gradually greening.
At the same time, Bai Wanxiang has had to travel to other villages to do temporary jobs, such as odd jobs or help people clean up their barns, in order to earn more money to support his family and Yin's tree-planting program.
Although the couple worked day and night, Yin Yuzhen still had to spend a lot of time carrying water every day. Water sources are not abundant in the Mu Us area, and the nearest well is a short distance from their residence.
Every day, she travels back and forth between the well and the sapling planting area several times, and each fetch of water is a test of strength and endurance.
The bucket is heavy and the road is long, so Yin Yuzhen must carefully balance the bucket to ensure that every drop of precious water can be used to irrigate the newly planted saplings.
In this repeated labor, Yin Yuzhen gradually saw the fruits of her efforts. The saplings are slowly starting to grow taller, and some are already able to stand on their own in the wind.
Although the conditions were difficult and progress was slow, she and Bai Wanxiang's persistence made this barren land begin to show vitality.
Every time they saw those green seedlings gradually becoming lush, they felt an indescribable satisfaction.
In 1993, after years of hard work and unremitting efforts, Yin Yuzhen and her family finally accumulated enough funds.
They planned to move out of their cellar-style dwelling on the edge of the Mu Us Desert and build a more sturdy and spacious brick house.
The process of building a new house is fraught with challenges, and the nearest town is 10km away from their home, from where all building materials need to be delivered.
Due to their remote location, there are no readily available means of transport or road connections, and they have to rely on their own strength and rudimentary facilities.
Bai Wanxiang was responsible for contacting vendors in nearby towns to buy bricks and tiles, while Yin Yuzhen was responsible for organizing family members and neighbors to assist with transportation.
They used an old ox cart pulled by two oxen to go back and forth between town and home again and again. Due to the rough roads, every trip is a great test of physical strength and patience.
In the beginning, the whole family and the neighborhood volunteers took turns driving the ox cart. They set out just after dawn in the morning and take advantage of the cool morning hours to avoid the midday heat.
The carriage was filled with bricks and tiles, each of which was the cornerstone of their home to be built.
Winter is here, the weather is getting colder, and the roads are slippery and difficult to navigate, but that hasn't stopped them.
Dressed in heavy cotton clothes and headscarves, they insisted on completing every transportation task despite the cold wind and the difficulties on the road.
Such a transport process lasted three whole winters. Over time, mountains of masonry were put to use, and wall after wall was slowly erected.
During this period, Yin Yuzhen's family's persistence and efforts gradually spread in the surrounding communities, and more and more help from neighbors became more and more.
People in the village often come spontaneously to help move bricks and mix mortar after their work.
Eventually, with the installation of the roof of the new house, Yin Yuzhen and her family finally had a real home – not just a shelter from the wind and rain, but a sturdy home that could withstand sandstorms and provide warmth and security.
Not only did this new home change their lives, but it also became a symbol of perseverance and hope on the edge of the Mu Us Desert.
In 1999, Yin Yuzhen's hard work and continuous environmental protection activities were finally widely recognized by the state.
After years of unremitting efforts, she and her family have changed part of the ecology of the Mu Us Desert.
Experts and technicians from the forestry department conducted detailed measurements and assessments, and finally counted 29,700 acres of desert land under her direct control.
This once barren land is now overgrown with a variety of trees and shrubs, forming an ecological barrier that effectively deters sandstorms and provides habitat for the restoration of local ecosystems and wildlife.
In recognition of Yin Yuzhen's outstanding contributions, she was named a model worker and was awarded the national "38" Green Medal during Women's Day, which is a high recognition of her efforts in the field of ecological and environmental protection.
In addition, she has received several local and national accolades, and her name and deeds have become inspiring examples.
In 2001, Yin Yuzhen's achievements received further international recognition when she was awarded the Chinese Habitat Award.
This award is given to an individual or organization that has made an outstanding contribution to the improvement of living conditions and the environment.
After receiving the award, Yin Yuzhen attended an award ceremony in Beijing, where she shared her experience with environmental pioneers and government officials from across the country.
Her story has inspired many, especially when it comes to ecological protection and desertification control. Yin's story has been widely reported through People's Daily, CCTV, Xinhua Daily Telegraph, and other media platforms.
The TV feature details how she went from being an ordinary rural woman to a well-known environmental figure at home and abroad through unremitting efforts and perseverance.
Journalists visited her hometown and photographed the green forests and groomed villages surrounding her home, showing how her efforts transformed the face of the entire community.
Yin's story has not only caused a sensation in China, but has also touched the heartstrings of the international community.
Many international environmental groups and individuals are beginning to pay attention to how this woman from as far northwest China has single-handedly transformed a large-scale ecological environment.
In the international environmental protection circle, Yin Yuzhen's name is gradually becoming well-known. Her persistence and success have captured the attention of environmentalists around the world.
In particular, two environmental activists, Sai Kowski and Wolff, who are from Europe and have long been concerned about the global problem of desertification and sustainable development.
They learned about Yin Yuzhen's deeds through an international symposium and expressed great interest and appreciation for her successful governance in the Mu Us Desert region.
Through their network, Say-Kowski and Wolf reached out to Yin to learn about her specific approach to desertification control and her future needs.
Given the importance of Yin's project to the ecological and economic development of the local community, they decided to provide financial support to help her scale and impact.
They announced that they would donate $5,000 to Yin Yuzhen to buy more saplings and improve the irrigation system to support her environmental projects.
This donation has given new impetus to Yin Yuzhen's work. She used the funds to purchase thousands of saplings suitable for growing in sandy soils, such as Saxon and Populus euphratica.
These species not only survive extreme climatic conditions, but also effectively fix the sand and reduce the invasion of wind-blown sand.
In addition, part of the funds was used to improve existing irrigation facilities, installing more pumps and drip irrigation systems to ensure that each sapling received sufficient water to promote its growth.
New saplings were planted one after another, and parts of the Mu Us Desert began to take shape.
The previously bare sand has been gradually covered with green, and the soil's water-holding capacity has been improved, benefiting the local population.
Not only have they had more employment opportunities, but they have also begun to learn and apply the governance techniques used by Yin Yuzhen, strengthening the community's ability to combat desertification.
So far, Yin Yuzhen has successfully helped the 70,000 acres of wasteland in the Mu Us Desert to be dressed in green.
These new greens not only improve the local ecological environment, but also provide hope for people, proving that even under extremely harsh conditions, through scientific methods and unremitting efforts, human beings can still improve the natural environment, creating a win-win situation for ecology and economy.
Yin Yuzhen: 30 Years of Perseverance, Desert Becomes Oasis