Shade to shore: generations forging Babusha's oasis

At Babusha's wind-scoured frontier, an old tree stands with roots bared by decades of storms, serving a living monument to China's desert-taming saga. In the 1970s, as shifting sands buried more than 20,000 mu of farmland near the Qilian Mountains, Guo Wangang's father (later succeeded by Guo as head of Babusha Forest Farm) led pioneers braving the dunes with donkey carts laden with saplings and shovels. Their mission are conquering the desert to survive.

The elm they planted in 1978 now towers as a windbreak symbolizing perseverance. Through three generations' resolve, 75,000 mu of desert have transformed into oasis—sheltering villages and reviving ecosystems. Today, diverted Yellow River water nourishes the once-barren land. Where golden sands once roared, now blooms a sea of flowers. (by Xue Lingqiao)