30,000 volunteers and 1 million trees to stop desertification in China

A viral campaign in Minqin county (China), a frontline region against the advancing Gobi desert, has mobilized an army of citizens from the cities. The aim? To plant a million trees...

According to goodnewsnetwork.org, in China's arid Gansu corridor, the rural county of Minqin has launched an appeal for help that has exceeded all expectations. Thanks to the "Plant a tree in Minqin" campaign, almost 30,000 volunteers responded between February and May 2026, and travelled at their own expense to the remote area where the trees are being planted and wedged between the Tibetan Plateau and the Gobi Desert in northern China, to protect farmland and water sources.

The unprecedented mobilization underlines the commitment of a new generation. Volunteers - students, parents wishing to educate their children in agriculture, fans of a reality TV show called Become a Farmer - have relentlessly faced sandstorms, rugged terrain and relentless sun. Yet they emphasize the "camaraderie" born from the exhausting work of digging holes and planting saplings.

The initiative owes everything to Zhong Jin, a local who returned to the region after completing a degree in desertification control in 2020. He launched the project in 2024, using short video-sharing platforms. The appeal went viral when Minqin was used as the backdrop for the TV show Become a Farmer, which featured 10 young urbanites cultivating 0.4 hectares of land for 190 days.

Minqin County has been fighting desertification with massive planting campaigns since 1950. This one aims to plant 1 million trees to protect vital irrigation and agricultural areas, using hardy species such as saxaoul (whose very deep roots fix sand dunes) and white sapwood.