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Japanese Plant Trees in Chinese Desert
Three generations of the Toyama family will spend some time every year in China, planting saplings in the Hobq Desert, in the southwestern part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The idea first came to Toyama Seiei, after his first visit in the desert in 1992. A leading expert in Japan on desert afforestation, Toyama, 95, has visited the desert every year since then.
Wang Minghai, who is in charge of the area's desert development, said that around 1,000 Japanese people come to the desert every year. Among them, the youngest so far was only five years old.
A monument bearing the name Izumi Toshihiko is located in the area. Wang said that it commemorates a young Japanese man who died of illness before he had a chance to plant trees in the desert.
His mother came instead, to fulfill her son's last wish. Team head surnamed Anta said they had planted some 2.7 million saplings in the last eight years.
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