American youth contributes to tree planting in Mu Us Desert

On the morning of April 6, American youth Ashton, accompanied by 58-year-old Chinese desert control model Yin Yuzhen, enthusiastically planted Mongolian scotch pine trees in the Mu Us Desert of Uxin Banner in Ordos city.

Wearing a sun hat and sports shoes, the American youth effortlessly loaded tree saplings onto a farm vehicle. Alongside other volunteers, Ashton dug holes with a shovel, secured the saplings, and covered them with sand, all in one fluid motion.

"Moved by Yin Yuzhen's deeds, I adopted her surname as my Chinese name, Yin Yifan," said Ashton.  

Prior to the Qingming Festival holiday in China, Ashton took a train and a car to the Mu Us Desert, expressing excitement at seeing the specks of green in the desert during spring.

The Mu Us Desert covers a total area of 42,200 square kilometers, two-thirds of which lies within Ordos.

According to the Chinese National Forestry and Grassland Administration, after years of efforts, effective control has led to a substantial increase in vegetation, significantly improving the overall ecology of the Mu Us Desert, the Hunshandake Desert, the Horqin Sandy Land, and the Hulunbuir Sandy Land.

As Ashton looked at the Mongolian scotch pines standing tall in the Mu Us Desert, he felt thrilled and captured a short video of them with his phone.

Ashton first met Yin Yuzhen in 2014, after coming to Harbin to teach English from the US. He coincidentally heard about Yin's desert control story and decided to visit this majestic land.

Since then, Ashton has come to the Mu Us Desert almost every year to plant trees with Yin.

During his 10 years of teaching in China, Ashton has been deeply concerned about the country's ecology. He feels that in recent years, China has increased its greening efforts, and now looks very beautiful.

"Being able to witness the green development here is the most beautiful memory of my time working in China," said Ashton.