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A Routine Marked by Losses, Persistence, and Transformed Landscape Spans Over Two Decades in the Interior of China, in a Story That Draws Attention by the Contrast Between the Hostile Terrain and the Scale of Work Done.
On the rocky slopes of Jingxing, in northern China, former soldier Ma Sanxiao has spent more than two decades planting trees almost every day, even after losing both legs.
The work, which began between 2000 and 2001 near the village of Mayu, transformed the landscape of a previously arid area with little vegetation cover.
Official sources and Chinese media reliably report that he had already surpassed 17,000 trees planted in 2019 and continued to work in 2023, at the age of 74.
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Ma’s story gained prominence due to the continuity of planting over the years.
A resident of Jingxing County in Hebei Province, he lost his legs after successive health complications associated with a septicemia contracted during his time in the People’s Liberation Army.
After that, he turned reforestation into routine and, over time, converted sections of slope into a continuous area of vegetation.
In Chinese reports, the reforested area is associated with about 800 mu, equivalent to approximately 53 hectares.
How Planting Began in the Mountains of Hebei
The decision to plant arose in a moment of financial and physical difficulties.
According to Xinhua and the People’s Daily, Ma began to occupy the arid mountains near his home in the early 2000s, when he was seeking a way to make a living after years of hospitalizations, surgeries, and debt.
The initial proposal was to sell the trees in the future, but that changed over time.
When his material situation improved with benefits and pensions, he decided to continue planting without commercial purposes and began to treat the forest as an environmental legacy.
Reports describe dry mountains, sections of difficult soil, and little vegetation cover.
The planting required digging holes, transporting seedlings, carrying water, and repeating the process for years in a terrain with limited access.
In Ma’s case, the task also involved the use of worn prosthetics, crutches, and constant adjustment of his work routine.
Amputations, Surgeries, and Financial Difficulties
Before being associated with the reforestation of the area, Ma faced a series of health problems.
Records from the Chinese press indicate that septicemia arose after an infection acquired when he was still in military service.
In the following years, the condition evolved into severe vascular complications.
His right leg was amputated in 1985.
Later, his left leg also needed to be amputated in 2004.
There is also mention of the loss of part of the pinky finger of his right hand in 2005, along with several surgeries during this period.
These episodes altered the family’s routine and compromised their finances.
In earlier versions of the story published by the Chinese press, Ma is portrayed as someone who had improved his life before the worsening of his illness but who faced high debts again due to treatment.
This period preceded the decision to invest in planting, first as a source of income and, later, as a permanent activity.
Ma Sanxiao’s Routine in Reforestation
The daily effort became central to reports about Ma Sanxiao.
In 2019, the ECNS described that he would leave early, protect the stumps of his legs, wear thick gloves, and carry a shovel and a pickaxe up the mountain.
In some sections, he needed to crawl to cross ditches or negotiate areas covered with thorns.
The route to the planting area also required time and endurance, with long climbs and days that occupied most of his time.
The People’s Daily reported a similar situation in 2023.
At 74 years old, Ma continued climbing the mountain with his prosthetics, removing them when the terrain became more challenging and forging a path manually through bushes and rocks.
Reports published by the Chinese press show a repetitive, physical, and long-term job, mainly sustained by manual labor.
This aspect helps explain the case’s impact.
It was not a one-time effort nor a mechanized project.
In the early years, planting was almost always conducted individually in an area that required frequent maintenance and constant relocations.
Over time, the initiative began to be viewed as a local example of environmental recovery.
Growth of the Forest and Community Support
The numbers published over the years show the evolution of the planting.
In 2011, Chinese reports indicated that Ma had planted over 3,000 trees after about a decade of work.
The volume increased in the following years.
In March 2019, the ECNS reported that he had surpassed 17,000 trees in 19 years.
In August 2023, the People’s Daily revisited the case, noting that he had been working for 23 years and reiterated that the number of surviving trees exceeded 17,000.
The visibility also attracted support.
According to ECNS, Ma’s trajectory began to receive more public attention after reports showcased his routine and challenges.
The People’s Daily added that residents, students, and donors engaged over the years, creating symbolic planting areas and reducing some of the workload that had previously fallen almost exclusively on him.
Thus, an effort initially individual began to involve participation from others in the community.
The Meaning Ma Attributes to the Work
When explaining why he continued planting even after decades of work, Ma referred to an image that appears in various reports.
In an interview with Xinhua, he stated that he plants trees to make the mountains greener and compared the rows of the forest to “green soldiers of nature.”
In 2019, he also told ECNS that he intended to continue until the end of his life and leave this green wealth for future generations.
This statement helps illustrate how he came to describe his work.
What started as a source of income, according to available reports, gained a new meaning over the years.
In 2023, the People’s Daily reported that Ma wanted to donate the trees, understanding that the mountain belongs to the country and that the green belongs to nature and the territory where he lives.
Over more than twenty years, Ma Sanxiao transformed an arid stretch of Hebei into a wooded area and established a trajectory associated with community reforestation.
The work was documented by state media and the Chinese press as an ongoing process, carried out under limited physical conditions and sustained even after successive health challenges.
In the most recent reports, the trees appear as the concrete result of a routine started in the early 2000s and still preserved decades later.
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