Tree‑planters on Helan Mountain

At the mountain pass Zhengyiguan on the Helan Mountain, the wind used to carry only dust and ash.Today, it gently moves the leaves of tall trees. This change has resulted from over 30 years of hard work by Ding Rugang and his wife, Yang Huacai.

They moved from Jiangsu to Ningxia in 1959 to join in coal mine construction. After retiring in 1988, they chose to live a quiet life by planting trees on the barren (贫瘠的) mountain.

"When we first came in 1989, not a single green leaf could be seen," said Ding, now in his nineties. He bought some old houses and started planting."The proudest thing in my life is that every tree here was planted by our own hands."

Ding has loved trees since he was a child."I'd bring saplings (树苗) home from the fields," he said."It's good for the soul and the land."

At first, it was very difficult. Saplings were scarce in the early years. The couple would ride buses and walk kilometers uphill, carrying young trees on their backs or bicycles. Ding even brought saplings from Jiangsu by train.

The rocky soil made digging difficult—sometimes sparks(火花) flew from their tools. Once, Ding fell into a hole and lost consciousness (意识). And water was also a problem. At the beginning, they carried every bucket up from the valley. During long droughts, many young trees died.

But they didn't give up. Their hard work finally paid off. The first scholar trees are now over 20 meters tall. Today, more than 40,000 trees had covered about 26.67 hectares.

Their children later joined them. Ding Feng, their son, worked with them until he passed away in 2021. Their daughter, Ding Ping, moved to the mountain after retirement. Another son, Ding Yi, left his job in 2017 to care for his parents and the forest.

"I helped on weekends as a teenager," Ding Yi said."Now it's my turn." Irrigation(灌溉) pipes now bring water from faraway springs. Ding Yi spends three hours each day watering the trees, which helps stop wind and sand.

Thanks to their efforts, Zhengyiguan has become an oasis(绿洲). A stream now flows through the area.