The Saihanba forest farm, on the province's northern tip, was a bountiful royal hunting ground during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), but turned into a sprawling desert because of excessive logging, which also caused sand storms threatening Beijing and adjacent regions

In 1962, hundreds forest workers from 18 provincial regions across the country embarked on tree planting in Saihanba to change the tide of rapid desertification. 

After three generations' hard efforts, the farm's afforested area almost quintupled over the past 59 years. The forest coverage rate jumped from just 11.4 percent to 82 percent during that period.

The mind-boggling effort to afforest Saihanba has turned a desert into a sea of trees, winning the farm the United Nations Environment Program's Champions of the Earth Award in 2017.