Building a forest, one tap at a time

Technological breakthroughs and innovations are enabling many Chinese to fight desertification in areas they have never even visited.

Internet financial services firm Ant Financial, an affiliate of Alibaba Group, made it possible with the launch of its Ant Forest mobile app in August 2016.

The app rewards users with virtual energy - which they can use to have trees planted - when they take low-carbon actions such as walking or using public transport instead of driving, or buying things online, which avoids the need for paper receipts.