From beautiful prairies to endless desert, from barren sandhills to lush grassland, 82-year-old Otgongerel has seen it all. To restore her hometown to its former glory, she spent her whole life planting trees, creating an oasis out of the desert.

It is a city steeped in idyllic beauty. Patches of bright peony blossoms are sprinkled among its fertile lands with the Yellow River winding through the pleasant landscape.

Geng Yukui, a lean 53-year-old man with a permanent tan, slogs up the long path to the mountain peak. Under a shoulder pole laden with eggs and vegetables exceeding 100 pounds, Geng traverses the 6,000 steps, one by one, to deliver goods to the restaurants and hotels which line the summit of Mount Tai, one of China's five most sacred mountains.

“The city of Zaytun (Quanzhou), magnificent and beautiful… It is one of the largest ports in the world. A great number of merchants have swarmed to this city.

In the early summer, rain showers come and go. Tall coconut trees and rubber trees line both sides of the roads.