Yulin in northwest China’s Shaanxi province has improved 93.2 percent of its desertified lands, which means that the city has turned the Mu Us Desert into a green land, according to the Shaanxi forestry bureau.

A photo shows the lush vegetation near the Zhongyingpan reservoir in Mengjiawan town, Yulin, northwest China's Shaanxi province. (Photo/Li Yujia)

Mu Us is one of the four largest deserts in the country, and covers an area of 42,200 square kilometers, half of which is located in Yulin.

Through seven decades of persistent and unremitting efforts, people in the city have turned it into an oasis.

Many people have contributed to this epic undertaking. One such example is Niu Yuqin, a woman from Jingbian county, who has restored 7,333 hectares of green land in over 30 years, winning her the honorary title of "national desertification control hero".

In Bulanghe town, a women's militia company has established 35 forest shelter belts to implement wind prevention and sand fixation.

Shi Guangyin, a 70-year-old villager from Dingbian county, devoted almost his entire life to sand control, establishing a sand-control company with other farmers, the first of its kind in China.

Thanks to their efforts, the forest coverage rate in Yulin has increased from 0.9 percent in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China to 34.7 percent today.

The city’s successful experience has set an example for China and the world at large in terms of prevention and control of desertification, said Zhang Jianlong, head of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.