Forest the work of generations

Woodland now covers 54 percent of Youyu county, which used to be mainly desert

As needlelike larch leaves fall like golden snowflakes in the mountains of Youyu county, it is hard to imagine the forests are the result of generations of human effort rather than a gift of nature.

Sitting on the edge of the Ordos Desert, in Shanxi province, Youyu was for centuries a barren land suffering from sandstorms and soil erosion, dating back to devastating conflict between government forces and northern nomads during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).