{"id":5983,"date":"2026-06-28T12:47:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T12:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/?p=5983"},"modified":"2026-06-28T12:47:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T12:47:59","slug":"a-26-year-green-promise-cross-ocrean-friendship-blooms-in-maowusu-sandy-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/28\/a-26-year-green-promise-cross-ocrean-friendship-blooms-in-maowusu-sandy-area\/","title":{"rendered":"A 26-year green promise: cross-ocrean friendship blooms in Maowusu sandy area"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\nBy Zhao Jingfeng, Li Zhiyao, People&#8217;s Daily\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nFor 26 years, a heartfelt promise forged amid desert\u00a0sands\u00a0and young trees has quietly endured across oceans and continents. Now, this long-standing bond has finally been rekindled\u00a0&#8212; first online, and soon, hopefully, with a long-awaited in person\u00a0reunion.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nA\u00a0touching video recently went viral online. In it, Yin Yuzhen, a national model worker in\u00a0China who has dedicated\u00a0decades to combating desertification in Maowusu sandy area, north China&#8217;s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, sends a heartfelt message in search of an American friend, hoping he would see the video and come back\u00a0to China\u00a0to visit.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe man Yin\u00a0was searching for is\u00a0Ronald Sakolsky. Back in\u00a01999,\u00a0Sakolsky raised $5,000 \u00a0through a foundation to support Yin&#8217;s tree-planting work. A year later, he traveled all the way to Maowusu sandy area\u00a0to meet her in person. Though brief, that encounter left a lasting impression on Yin.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThanks to\u00a0widespread support from people\u00a0across society, this green connection\u00a0spanning 26 years finally led to a long-awaited reunion online.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n&#8220;The trees you helped fund\u00a0all those year ago\u00a0have grown into a vast forest. When will you come and see them? I really want to meet you again,&#8221; Yin says sincerely in the video.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nAcross the Pacific,\u00a069-year-old Sakolsky was deeply moved after seeing the video. He replied that he would do his best to come and wanted to plant a tree with Yin together. The two have agreed to meet again in China in the near future.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nPeople&#8217;s Daily reporters recently visited Yin&#8217;s home in Uxin banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, deep within Maowusu sandy area, to hear firsthand the story behind this cross-border friendship and decades-long fight against desertification.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nAs the vehicle traveled through the Maowusu sandy area, fresh green shrubs flashed past on either side of the asphalt road.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n&#8220;Come and take a look first\u00a0&#8212; this is all thanks to that $5,000!&#8221;\u00a0Yin laughed, pointing toward a dense stretch of woodland outside the car window.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n&#8220;Most of these trees were planted with that money. There are more than 50,000 of them,&#8221; she noted.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn 1985, Yin married into Salawusu village in Uxin banner. Situated deep in the heart of Maowusu sandy area, the village was surrounded by endless dunes.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nYin understood from the beginning that if she wanted to tame the shifting sands, there was only one solution: planting trees.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn 1986, she sold one of the family&#8217;s sheep to buy 600 saplings and planted them around her house. A violent sandstorm soon swept through, leaving fewer than ten trees standing.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n&#8220;If around 10 survived, later it might be 100, then 1,000,&#8221; Yin recalled.\r\n\r\n \r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-66125\" src=\"https:\/\/timelinenews.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2-768x1024.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\r\n \r\n\r\n<strong><em>Photo shows Ronald Sakolsky\u00a0(first from left). (Photo provided by Yin Yuzhen)<\/em><\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nUndaunted, she and her husband Bai Wanxiang headed deep into the sand dunes, bringing saplings and tools along.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn 1999, Sakolsky, who was then teaching at Luoyang Foreign Languages School in central China&#8217;s Henan province, happened to see a television show about Yin&#8217;s efforts and was deeply moved.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nAfter watching the show, he kept thinking about how he could help.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThat October, he emailed numerous organizations in the U.S. to raise funds for Yin&#8217;s\u00a0project. Eventually, an institution based in Boston donated $5,000 to support her afforestation efforts.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nYin was astonished\u00a0when she received the donation.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n&#8220;A complete stranger raised such a large amount of money for me without even verifying who I was,&#8221; she recalled. &#8220;I had to plant those trees well. I couldn&#8217;t let that trust down.&#8221;\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nYin carefully planned every detail: which species had the best survival rates, where trees should be planted to stabilize shifting sands, and how irrigation could conserve more water.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nSeveral months later, seedlings began appearing across what had once been barren dunes.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn 2000, Sakolsky and his colleague Bai Fan came to China and met with Yin. With Bai serving as an interpreter, the Sakolsky and Yin exchanged simple conversations while the latter showed them the newly planted saplings.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nWhen Sakolsky entered Yin&#8217;s home, all he saw were simple tools: hoes, shovels and little else.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n&#8220;He kept saying &#8216;impossible&#8217; again and again,&#8221; Bai recalled.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nAlthough Sakolsky admired Yin&#8217;s determination, he had little confidence at the time that the saplings would survive.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nYin, however, made up her mind. One day, she thought, Sakolsky would return and see that those tiny saplings had grown into towering trees.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nOver the past four decades, supported by government-led efforts and inspired by desertification fighters like Yin, dramatic changes have taken place.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nMore than 4,600\u00a0hectares of sandy land around Yin&#8217;s home has been rehabilitated, with over 8 million trees planted.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nToday, 85 percent of Maowusu sandy area\u00a0within Uxin banner, or nearly 560,000 hectares, has been brought under control, with forest coverage rising to 32.92 percent.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nSakolsky is far from the only person drawn to Yin&#8217;s story. Over the years, volunteers from more than 20 countries and regions have traveled to visit her, establishing lasting friendships with this Chinese woman.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nOne of them is Donald Ashton Jones, another American.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn 2015, while teaching English at a school in Harbin, northeast China&#8217;s Heilongjiang province, Jones watched a documentary about Yin&#8217;s work and decided to seek her out to learn tree planting.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nHe began calling Yin his elder sister and even gave himself a Chinese name Yin Yifan.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nSince then, he has returned almost every year whenever possible, joining Yin in planting trees and stabilizing the sands.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n&#8220;With more people worldwide showing concern, I came to understand that this is a dream shared by all humanity,&#8221; Yin said.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nFurther down\u00a0the tree-lined road stands a stone monument inscribed with the words\u00a0&#8220;Citizens of Earth&#8221;. Its back bears the names of people from home and abroad, all of whom have lent their support to this woodland in their own\u00a0ways.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nInspired by Yin&#8217;s\u00a0persistence, more than 240 major tree-growing households have emerged in surrounding areas, each having planted over 200\u00a0hectares\u00a0of trees.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n&#8220;I hope\u00a0to encourage more people to join tree planting,&#8221; Yin said. &#8220;Together, we can make our shared planet a better home for everyone.&#8221;\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text-justify mb-2\" >By Zhao Jingfeng, Li Zhiyao, People&#8217;s Daily For 26 years, a heartfelt promise forged amid desert\u00a0sands\u00a0and young trees has quietly endured across oceans and continents. Now, this long-standing bond has finally been rekindled\u00a0&#8212; first online, and soon, hopefully, with a long-awaited in person\u00a0reunion. A\u00a0touching video [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":5984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1.png",1280,960,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1-300x225.png",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1-768x576.png",768,576,true],"large":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1-1024x768.png",1024,768,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1.png",1280,960,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1.png",1280,960,false],"color-newsmagazine-thumbnail-1":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1-650x434.png",650,434,true],"color-newsmagazine-thumbnail-4":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1-730x487.png",730,487,true],"color-newsmagazine-singlecolumn":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1-950x475.png",950,475,true],"color-newsmagazine-thumbnail-5":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1-625x400.png",625,400,true],"color-newsmagazine-thumbnail-7":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1-112x75.png",112,75,true],"color-newsmagazine-thumbnail-8":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1-425x283.png",425,283,true],"color-newsmagazine-thumbnail-10":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1-664x530.png",664,530,true],"color-newsmagazine-thumbnail-12":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1-122x122.png",122,122,true],"color-newsmagazine-thumbnail-rightnews":["https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1-430x287.png",430,287,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Press Release","author_link":"https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/author\/press-release\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Zhao Jingfeng, Li Zhiyao, People&#8217;s Daily For 26 years, a heartfelt promise forged amid desert\u00a0sands\u00a0and young trees has quietly endured across oceans and continents. Now, this long-standing bond has finally been rekindled\u00a0&#8212; first online, and soon, hopefully, with a long-awaited in person\u00a0reunion. A\u00a0touching video [&hellip;]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5983"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5985,"href":"https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5983\/revisions\/5985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youarepakistan.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}