Pic story: 81-year-old herdsman takes care of desert poplar trees in China's Inner Mongolia

Ban Du, an 81-year-old herdsman of the Mongolian ethnic group, looks at the new leaves of a tree of populus euphratica, commonly known as desert poplar, in Ceke Gacha of Ejina Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Oct. 11, 2018. Ceke Gacha, a village in the Badain Jaran Desert, is known for its dry weather and tough environment. However, Ban Du, unlike other herdsmen, is unwilling to leave his hometown and be relocated to a city house offered by the local government. He has contracted a grassland in the desert and takes care of the century-old desert poplar trees covering over 2,000 hectares of land. To irrigate the trees, he dug a dozen wells in the past 30 years and used his own savings from selling cattle to clear the sand-blocked river channels. Ban Du's hard work won social support. In July 2018, the China Green Foundation raised over 100,000 yuan (14,486 U.S. dollars) to help Ban Du's irrigation efforts. Water finally flew into Ban Du's forest in October this year. "With water, the trees will become green and the eco-system will recover," Ban Du said, noting that he would stay in the desert to take care of the desert poplar trees. (Xinhua/An Xiya)