After 12 years of hard work, local Tibetans have planted trees on over 20,000 hectares of sandy beaches along the Yarlung Zangbo River in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
"A decade ago, there was an endless desertification belt along the river," recalled Tiejue, a local resident, "sandy dunes almost buried our farmland, grassland and houses."
In the past, local people called barren land a "forbidden zone" for tree planting, where heavy winds predominated in winter period, while floods hit in Summer.
In 1988, local forestry workers began planting trees in the sandy area.
Their efforts have paid off as trees planted in the early years are maturing, ready for logging.
The "green corridor" along the river may produce lumber worth 675 million yuan (US$81 million) a year.
(Xinhua News Agency June 5, 2003)
