THE ROCK OF KAISHAN

Wang Jicai's story of resilience and sense of duty against the odds on an island in the Yellow Sea remains after his death, Li Yingxue reports.

When Wang Jicai first landed on Kaishan Island there was no fresh water, no electricity, and no trees.

In the first year he planted 100 aspen; in the second, 50 pagoda trees, and the third year, more than a kilogram of neem seeds - all died but one grew into a sapling.