Chinese farmers pursue dream of Gobi farming

LANZHOU - Fan Lide, 42, used to be a taxi driver. He is now the owner of 36 greenhouses producing organic vegetables in the barren Gobi desert in Northwest China's Gansu province, and his business has been expanding over the past 10 years.

"Being a taxi driver, you have to work long hours every day. In the end, you have to pay a bulk of the revenue for renting the car. Now I'm even busier, but I work for myself and am much better off," Fan says.

Fan is one of the beneficiaries of the Gobi Farming Program of Gansu province that is building rows of greenhouses in the desert to help transform local farming and alleviate poverty.