On August 21, 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Babusha Forest Farm in Gulang county, Gansu Province. Located on the Tengger Desert's southern edge, the area once faced rampant sandstorms encroaching on farmland and villages by 7.5 meters annually.

In the early 1980s, six local elders thumbprinted a contract to form a collective forest farm: "Tame the sand to save our homes!" Led by the "Six Elders," three generations of Babusha workers have transformed vast sandy and windy tracts of desert into grassland and forest.

President Xi Jinping joins in laying straw grids as part of desertification control work at Babusha Forest Farm in Gulang county, Gansu Province on August 21, 2019. (Photo: Xinhua)

Entering the farm, Xi saw green patches amid yellow sands and remarked, "China has built the world's largest man-made forest, making huge contributions to global ecological protection."

He straightened a Haloxylon sapling, shoveled soil, and tamped straw grids alongside workers to stabilize dunes.

Guo Wangang still remembers vividly the moment Xi came to the forest farm. His father was one of the "Six Elders." In 1983, when his 63-year-old father fell ill, 31-year-old Guo took up the shovel. Now 74, Guo serves as the director of Babusha Forest Farm.

On that day, Guo guided Xi's group forward, with Xi leading the way. Along the path, Xi learned about annual rainfall and evaporation rates, altitude, and suitable tree species.

Zhang Runyuan, the youngest among the Six Elders, was also present at the scene that day. He recalled that when Xi saw the forest farm workers laying straw grids, he said he wanted to give it a try. "He handled the furrow plough very skillfully and had excellent control of the force. You could tell at a glance that he was a seasoned worker," Zhang recalled. "In about 10 minutes, he had plowed a furrow more than four meters long."

Xi praised the workers: "Carry forward the 'Six Elders' contemporary Yu Gong spirit—their resolve never to bow to difficulties, daring to turn desert into oasis. Press on, achieve new merits, make the green Great Wall impregnable."

Today, Babusha is no longer just a barrier against wind and sand. Data shows over 300,000 mu (20,000 hectares) afforested and controlled, nearly 450,000 mu sealed for forest-grass nurturing.

(Compiled by Li Zhuoman and Yu Jiming; Edited by Huang Jingjing; Proofread by Zhang Jian; Source: Xi Jinping and Frontline Workers, a book featuring Xi's engagements with workers published by China Workers Press in late 2025)