In early summer, the state-owned Xinhua forest farm in Linhe district, Bayannur, North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is lush with greenery, casting a shade on the sand.

These seemingly ordinary trees have been gazed upon by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese President and chairman of the Central Military Commission, for a long time.

On June 6, Xi went to the Xinhua forest farm, where he learned about the development of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program (TSFP). 

After over 40 years of unremitting efforts, China has made remarkable achievements in preventing and controlling desertification, and realized a historic transformation from “sand forcing humans to retreat” to “trees forcing sand to retreat” in key areas, Xi said at a symposium during his inspection.