Planting trees lifts Shaanxi village out of poverty

For decades, when the summer sun relentlessly beat down on the hillsides of northern Shaanxi province, farmers had to drape clothes over their heads just to escape the heat. Today, they can walk up the mountain and cool off under any tree they like.

Yan Zhixiong, former Party secretary of Nangou village in Wuqi county, looks back on a transformation that took more than two decades to achieve.

When the Grain for Green Program reached Wuqi in the 1990s, the county was among the first in China to return farmland to forest and grassland. But the villagers were initially reluctant to give up their fields. They were more concerned about putting food on the table than planting trees.

"When we talked about returning farmland to forest and grassland, the key was to get villagers on board," said Yan, 62.

"The villagers said to me, 'Yan Zhixiong, we plant so much and still don't have enough to eat. Now you want to leave us just 2 mu (0.13 hectares) of flat land per person. What are we supposed to eat?'"

The government promised to provide grain to compensate farmers for the crops they would lose, but many remained skeptical until they saw large carts hauling grain back and forth through the village.

"In the end, everyone returned their farmland. And did anyone starve? No one," Yan said.

Then came the planting.

Before dawn, technicians with the program distributed saplings. Tricycles hauled the seedlings and cans of water up the hillsides, where villagers worked to establish trees in the dry, unforgiving terrain.

"We had to tend every tree the way we look after a child. If we didn't plant that way, they all died," Yan said, explaining that afforestation in northern Shaanxi was no easy task.

After planting a sapling, villagers would grasp it with both hands and pull upward. If it came loose, they had to plant it again, Yan said. In the region's dry climate, trees had to be planted deep, with the soil firmly tamped down around their roots, to help them survive.

The work took a physical toll. The villagers' palms were covered in calluses. Their hands blistered and bled, before the wounds dried into hard scabs. A handshake with them felt rough and abrasive.

"In those days, we were so poor. No gloves, just bare hands," Yan said.

The figures tell the story of how much has changed.

In 1996, the year Yan became Party secretary, the village's average annual income was just 660 yuan ($97.82).

Today, trees help hold the soil in place, and the village relies on a fraction of its former farmland.

Residents have diversified their sources of income, drawing earnings from forestry, crops grown under the tree canopy, small businesses, livestock and tourism. Average annual income in the village now exceeds 10,000 yuan.

Bai Tao, 56, a Nangou villager, said he built a campsite in 2024 to cater to tourists looking for places to eat and stay. A longtime cooking enthusiast, he enjoys being able to run his business right on his doorstep. He said the campsite could bring him more than 100,000 yuan in annual income.

The transformation has also changed how villagers view their relationship with the land.

"Before, when you went up the mountain and the wind blew, your nostrils and mouth were full of yellow dust. Now look at it. We can say clear waters and green mountains make people prosperous," Yan said.

He sees the effort as a collective achievement built on years of hard work.

"I always remember Chairman Mao Zedong's words: the masses are the real heroes. He was absolutely right," Yan said. "Without ordinary people grinding away out there, one or two people could never have taken this on."

He described the more than 20-year effort as a new Long March.

In October 1935, the Central Red Army arrived in Wuqi, marking the victorious conclusion of its Long March. At the time, the Loess Plateau was characterized by barren hills and deeply eroded gullies.

According to the local government, the county's green coverage rate rose from 19.6 percent in 1997 to 72.9 percent.

For Yan, the results are visible not only in the figures but also in the everyday lives of the people who once struggled to survive on the hillsides. Trees now cover the slopes, offering shade to farmers and helping create new opportunities for the village.

The change, he said, is a testament to what ordinary people can accomplish through perseverance and collective effort.