Newsletter: China’s Desertification Control Model Worker Yin Yuzhen’s “Second Entrepreneurship”

　　China News Service, Ordos, March 6, title: China's desertification control model Yin Yuzhen's "Second Entrepreneurship"

　　China News Service reporter Li Aiping

　　Rise at dawn.

On the morning of March 6, 58-year-old Yin Yuzhen climbed out of bed. The first thing she did after briefly washing herself was to look at cherries.

In the 10 greenhouses she planted, the cherries were already harvesting.

She roughly estimated that there could be a harvest of tens of thousands of kilograms.

　　"Taste, these are the cherries I just picked from the greenhouse, are they sweet?" This is a frequently used word that Yin Yuzhen uses to entertain relatives and friends during the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon.

The picture shows Yin Yuzhen, a Chinese model worker for combating desertification.

Photo by Li Zhenmeng

　　"Sold at 150 yuan or 200 yuan per catty, this is a lot of income." Yin Yuzhen believes that this is something she has never thought of in her 39 years of struggling in the sand.

“In the past, there was no grass growing in the sandy land, but cherries could still be harvested in early spring.”

　　On the eve of International Women's Day, this Chinese desertification control model worker gave an exclusive interview to a reporter from China News Service. She regarded growing cherries as a "second entrepreneurship" in her life.

　　Yin Yuzhen, who lives in the Mu Us Desert in Wushen Banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, started combating desertification at the age of 19, but she emphasized that “it was to survive.”

　　With a total area of ​​42,200 square kilometers, two-thirds of the Mu Us Sandy Land is located in Ordos.

The National Forestry and Grassland Administration previously released news that after years of efforts, the four major sandy lands of Mu Us, Hunshandake, Horqin and Hulunbuir have been effectively managed, with forest and grass vegetation increasing significantly and the overall ecology improving.

　　Yin Yuzhen, who married in 1985 from Yulin, Shaanxi Province, moved to Inner Mongolia. She first lived in a cellar-like house near the Mu Us Sandy Land. "Whenever the wind blows, this small house will be dark, and people's mood will be particularly gloomy."

　　“I would rather die planting trees than let the sand bully me to death.” Unwilling to live like this, Yin Yuzhen began to plant trees around her residence.

She said, "Over the past few years, the place has become more green. Over the past few years, the original houses have turned into brick houses, and crops can be grown on the sand here."

　　According to the Ordos Forestry and Grassland Bureau, after more than 30 years of hard work, Yin Yuzhen has turned 70,000 acres of yellow sand into an oasis at a rate of planting more than 20,000 trees each year.

Now, there are more birds in Mu Us Sandy Land.

　　Controlling desertification changed the living environment in the past, but now controlling desertification can make people rich.

Over the past 39 years, Yin Yuzhen has gradually tasted the benefits of ecological benefits.

Not only does she have her own 500-acre ecological garden, she also grows millet, corn, cabbage and other cereals, fruits and vegetables in the ecological garden.

　　The crops grown by Yin Yuzhen are favored by consumers because of their high quality.

She said proudly, "The millet I grow is shiny and can be sold for 50 yuan per catty. Now it has a great reputation in the local area and surrounding areas."

　　Yin Yuzhen also expressed certain difficulties regarding the "second entrepreneurship" she is currently embarking on.

"With few manpower, I have to do a lot of work myself. The most important thing is that the quality of the products must be guaranteed. I am busy, very busy!"

　　“Although it’s a bit tiring now, once we have a large scale, we can work together with the villagers.” Yin Yuzhen believes that with the help of the country’s good policies for rural revitalization, turning Mu Us (sand land) into Jin Usu is her “second entrepreneurial venture.” "The motivation.

　　Planting cherries in a greenhouse is just the starting point of Yin Yuzhen's "second entrepreneurial venture". Her greater ambition is to plant trees to control desertification in Mongolia.

She wants to replicate her achievements in desertification control and tree planting in Mu Us abroad.

　　International Women's Day is coming soon, and Yin Yuzhen also hopes that she can show more "her power".

She clenched her fists and said, she can definitely do it.

(over)