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In the vast desert of the Erjin Banner (Dalain Hob), Chifeng, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, colorful Chinese tamarisk blossoms surround an oasis of about 1,300 hectares.
The oasis has been created by Yongqing Jabo, who came to the desert with her 4-year-old son in 1987.
"The whole area was barren when we first came. Every time we planted Chinese tamarisk to fence the grassland, the sandstorms would blow the samplings dozens of kilometers away, and I have to go and get them back," Yongqing Jabo recalled.
The woman rose from bed at 4 every morning, planted Chinese tamarisk and grasses, took care of the sheep, and would not sleep until one o'clock at night.
After 15 years of hard work, 1,300 hectares of grasses, 35,000 trees and 1,000 sheep are thriving in the desert.
Yongqing Jabo has also been helping local residents free themselves from poverty.
Li Jianzhong, a local resident, said: "My family would not be so happy if she wasn't here to help."
Yongqing Jabo helped Li pay the tuition fees of his three daughters.
"I am a Party member rooted in the grassland. I will do my best to help my fellow herdsmen lead a better life," she said.
(China Daily November 7, 2002)
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