Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
5 min of reading 
0 comments 
Desertification advances on Minqin, in northwest China, and mobilizes a green task force with planting campaigns, drought-resistant seedlings, and thousands of volunteers to contain the advance of sands between two of the country’s largest deserts
Desertification has become the focus of a major environmental mobilization in Minqin County, Gansu Province, northwest China. Located between the Badain Jaran and Tengger, identified as the third and fourth largest Chinese deserts, the region has 94% of its area covered by desert and desertified land, which has made it one of the country’s main sources of sandstorms.
Given this scenario, the county has been reinforcing a series of tree planting campaigns at the Zhonglin public welfare ecological forest base since 2024. Since the beginning of this year alone, more than 30,000 volunteers from various parts of China have arrived in Minqin’s immense sandy strip and have already planted over 1 million drought-resistant seedlings, such as saxaul, in an attempt to contain the advance of sand and build a green barrier in one of the country’s most vulnerable areas.
What is behind the desertification threatening Minqin
Desertification in Minqin is not treated as an isolated problem, but as a direct threat to local survival. The county is squeezed between two large deserts and coexists with a landscape where sand dominates almost the entire territory.
-
A Brazilian city is being encroached upon by the sea, and the municipality is forced to act due to imminent risk, with erosion of up to 1.85 meters per year, waves over 3 meters, and a daily fine of R$ 1,000.
-
Shenzhen transforms an ecological bridge into a symbol of urban conservation, separating passages for pedestrians and wildlife, and creating dual trails to protect biodiversity in the heart of the city.
-
Mr. Eninho, at 67 years old, has lived for over 40 years on the same property in Delfinópolis, cultivates food, raises animals, receives tourists, and transforms simple country life into an example of happiness and tradition in the Serra da Canastra.
-
The world’s most common blood test may hide an Alzheimer’s warning that no doctor had read until now — a 2026 study shows that elevated neutrophils predict dementia years before symptoms.
This condition helps explain why Minqin appears as one of the main origins of sandstorms in China. When vegetation cover is insufficient and the terrain degrades, the soil loses stability and the pressure from the desert environment intensifies, increasing the environmental risk for the region.
The numbers that explain the size of the challenge
The data shows the dimension of the problem and the response effort. Minqin has 94% of its area covered by desert and desertified land, an index that alone reveals the degree of local vulnerability.
On the other side of the equation is the scale of the task force. Since the beginning of this year, the Zhonglin base has gathered more than 30,000 volunteers. Together, they have already planted over 1 million drought-resistant seedlings, a number that indicates the extent of China’s commitment to large-scale ecological recovery actions.
How the green task force against desertification works
The fight against desertification in Minqin is being carried out through tree planting campaigns conducted at the Zhonglin ecological forest base. Volunteers from various provinces participate in direct fieldwork, digging, watering, opening wells for water storage, and planting new seedlings in sandy areas.
The choice of drought-resistant species, such as saxaul, shows that the strategy seeks to adapt reforestation to the region’s extreme conditions. In an environment marked by water scarcity and fragile soil, seedling selection is a central part of the attempt to create a lasting green barrier.
Why the region became a priority in the fight against sandstorms
Minqin occupies a delicate position on the Chinese map due to being located between two large deserts. This means that local desertification has an impact that extends beyond the county, as the area is considered an important source of sandstorms.
In practice, containing the advance of soil degradation in Minqin means trying to reduce a broader environmental problem. The planting effort, therefore, serves not only to restore the local landscape but also to curb the spread of sand affecting other areas.
What changes in practice with the planting of over 1 million seedlings
Mass planting serves as an attempt to stabilize the soil and create natural protection against the advance of sand. In a region where desertification dominates almost the entire surface, each new re-vegetated area represents a chance to reduce the pressure from the desert environment.
Furthermore, the creation of this plant cover helps transform the response to the problem into continuous action, not just an emergency. The green initiative seeks to build an ecological base capable of sustaining a more resilient reaction to land degradation over time.
A campaign that has been growing since 2024
Minqin county did not start this movement now. According to the submitted information, tree planting campaigns have been carried out since 2024, which shows that the response to desertification has already become a continuous policy in the territory.
This recent history helps explain why the current effort has reached such a high scale. The work has been consolidated, leading to the large volume of volunteers and seedlings recorded this year, expanding response capacity in an area considered critical.
Why the involvement of 30,000 volunteers draws so much attention
The presence of over 30,000 people in planting actions in the middle of a vast sandy area shows that the fight against desertification has gained a collective dimension. It is not just a technical or administrative action, but a national collective effort that mobilizes people from different parts of China.
This engagement also reinforces the symbolism of the initiative. Instead of merely reacting to the advance of the desert with isolated measures, the country is trying to transform planting into a visible gesture of environmental resistance in one of the regions most exposed to degradation.
The next steps of a green promise in the yellow sands
With over 1 million seedlings already planted and thousands of volunteers mobilized, the trend is for Minqin to continue expanding its efforts to contain desertification and strengthen the ecological recovery of the area. The challenge, however, remains enormous, because the region continues to be surrounded by large deserts and exposed to severe conditions.
Even so, the green initiative in Zhonglin indicates that China wants to transform the fight against sand into a long-term strategy. In a territory where almost everything around is desert, each seedling planted represents a concrete attempt to change the fate of the landscape.
In your opinion, can large-scale actions like this green initiative truly curb desertification in such extreme regions?
Be the first to react!