KUBUQI DESERT, China (AP) — For five decades, millions of workers have carried out the same careful routine across the windswept deserts of northern China: pressing forearm-length sticks into loose sand in straight rows, then crossing them with another set to create a tight grid. In the middle of each small square, young saplings are planted.

This approach, known as “straw checkerboards,” is a straightforward but effective way to anchor shifting dunes. The grids reduce wind speed at ground level, trap moisture, and give newly planted vegetation a chance to establish roots with the help of irrigation.

The crisscrossed pattern stretching across vast sandy expanses has become a defining symbol of China’s long-running battle against desertification, officially called the Three-North Protective Forest Program and often referred to as the Green Great Wall.

While decades of labor have produced clear improvements, experts emphasize that safeguarding these achievements will demand persistent work for generations to come.

Visitors walk beside grass checkerboards laid across a sand dune as part of desert control efforts in the Engebei Ecological Area near Ordos in Inner Mongolia province on June 12, 2026.

Visitors walk beside grass checkerboards laid across a sand dune as part of desert control efforts in the Engebei Ecological Area near Ordos in Inner Mongolia province on June 12, 2026.

For years, drought, intensive grazing, and farming practices stripped vegetation and weakened soil, leaving large areas exposed to powerful winds and frequent sandstorms. This gradual degradation, known as desertification, reached its peak in northern China around 2000. Since then, the country has reduced desertified land by more than 1,000 square kilometers (about 400 square miles) annually, according to official data.

Launched in 1978, the government-led initiative has played a central role in shifting vast territories—covering nearly half the country—from a pattern of “desert advancing, people retreating” to one in which greenery is expanding and desert conditions are receding. Forests planted under the program now total about 500,000 square kilometers (200,000 square miles).

“The importance of the Three-North Program lies not only in its scale, but in the sustained political commitment behind it,” said Barron Joseph Orr, chief scientist of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification. He noted that reversing land degradation becomes feasible when it is embedded in long-term national development strategies.

Similar initiatives have emerged elsewhere, including a multinational African effort launched in 2007 to plant trees across the Sahel region to slow the spread of the Sahara.

Measuring the success of the Green Great Wall

A lone shed stands amid sandy terrain near Ordos in Inner Mongolia province on June 12, 2026.

A lone shed stands amid sandy terrain near Ordos in Inner Mongolia province on June 12, 2026.

The progress achieved so far reflects both grassroots labor and high-level planning backed by significant public investment, said Zhu Jiaojun, a scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences who has long studied and supported the project. He added that increased rainfall in some regions in recent years has also aided vegetation recovery.

“Success in fighting desertification comes from human dedication, along with some favorable climate conditions,” Zhu said.

Long-term monitoring by Zhu’s team shows that since 2000, China’s overall desertified land area has shrunk by roughly 10%, while zones classified as severely desertified have fallen by more than 40%. Forest coverage within the program’s region has risen from about 5% in 1978 to 14% in 2022.

During a recent media visit to a section of the Kubuqi Desert roughly 800 kilometers (500 miles) west of Beijing, 60-year-old Yin Yuzhen reflected on her early years as a sand-control worker, describing them as “very lonely.” Working with her husband near their home in the Mu Us Desert, she said even the sight of wildlife brought joy.

“When a bird flew overhead, it felt like a gift,” she said.

Men stand atop a dune reinforced with grass checkerboards at the Engebei Ecological Area near Ordos in Inner Mongolia province on June 12, 2026.

Men stand atop a dune reinforced with grass checkerboards at the Engebei Ecological Area near Ordos in Inner Mongolia province on June 12, 2026.

Four decades ago, Yin recalled, blowing sand could become so dense that visibility dropped to just a few meters.

“Now we can see the sunlight. We can see green plants in the distance. We can see the road,” she said.

Today, she and her husband work from early morning until noon, tending trees and repairing damaged checkerboards. Their children and local volunteers occasionally join them.

Zhu estimates that more than 300 million rural residents have participated in the project over the years, most contributing on a paid, part-time basis.

Sustaining both land and livelihood

Yin Yuzhen holds a sapling that failed to survive because it was planted too shallow at a desert control site in the Engebei Ecological Area near Ordos in Inner Mongolia province on June 12, 2026.

Yin Yuzhen holds a sapling that failed to survive because it was planted too shallow at a desert control site in the Engebei Ecological Area near Ordos in Inner Mongolia province on June 12, 2026.

Orr explained that once dryland ecosystems are restored, they can gradually become more self-sustaining. However, they still require careful stewardship and consistent monitoring, with outcomes influenced by water supply, soil quality, and ongoing management.

In Gansu province, the environmental group Green Camel Bell works with farmers and herders to raise awareness about desertification risks, plant trees in arid regions, and support long-term vegetation recovery.

“Combating desertification must go hand in hand with improving local livelihoods,” said founder Zhao Zhong. “Communities should not feel forced to choose between economic opportunity and ecological protection.”

Yin Yuzhen walks across dunes stabilized by grass checkerboards at the Engebei Ecological Area near Ordos in Inner Mongolia province on June 12, 2026.

Yin Yuzhen walks across dunes stabilized by grass checkerboards at the Engebei Ecological Area near Ordos in Inner Mongolia province on June 12, 2026.

Orr agreed that restoration initiatives are far more likely to endure when they deliver tangible economic benefits to local populations.

Zhu noted that one of the program’s most pressing challenges is determining how conservation gains can be maintained if government investment or human involvement decreases.

“This is our greatest concern and our biggest test,” he said.

Yin hopes younger generations will continue caring for the land she has worked to restore.

“We must teach young people to cherish the Earth,” she said. “If we truly love it, nature will return that love.”

A highway passes through a desert restoration zone in the Engebei Ecological Area near Ordos in Inner Mongolia province on June 12, 2026.

A highway passes through a desert restoration zone in the Engebei Ecological Area near Ordos in Inner Mongolia province on June 12, 2026.