Ordos builds green wall through relentless desert control efforts

Ordos in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region is making progress in ecological restoration, accelerating efforts to combat desertification in the Yellow River Basin and advancing work on key projects under the sixth phase of the Three-North Forest Shelterbelt Program.

The city has treated nearly 10 million mu (about 666,000 hectares) of desertified land at a pace of over 10,000 mu per day. By the end of this year, 50 percent of the Kubuqi Desert and 85 percent of the Mu Us Sandy Land will be rehabilitated, with full restoration targeted by 2030.

According to Liu Tianyun, deputy director of the Ordos forestry and grassland bureau, Ordos has completed five phases of the Three-North Forest Shelterbelt Program, achieving a total of over 32 million mu of ecological restoration.

The ongoing sixth phase has already delivered over 10 million mu of sand control, with Kubuqi and Mu Us reclamation rates reaching 40 percent and 80 percent respectively.

Otog Banner, on the western edge of the Mu Us Sandy Land, is a key area in the sixth phase. In 2025, it aims to complete 2.45 million mu of forest and grassland development. With the adoption of "build-first, subsidize-later" policies and new mechanized, intelligent technologies, the green barrier continues to grow.

In Kerengetu village, an elderly villager named Bayindeligeer recalls taking a photo 28 years ago – his home stood alone with only two poplar trees. Today, thanks to the tree planting efforts, the same land is now covered in lush greenery, a testament to decades of persistent ecological transformation.