XINING, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Tashi's hometown Sadrushi Township has transformed from a barren land plagued by gales and sandstorms to a beautiful, lush landscape filled with trees.

The achievements have been made over decades by the villagers who live there, generation after generation, and Tashi is among them.Located in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Qinghai Province, the land area affected by desertification in Sadrushi accounted for 90.28 percent in 1956.

"When the wind blew, we could hardly see our homes, as they were all engulfed by sand," said the 56-year-old man. He added that in the past, the sky would be yellow more than half the month, and sand sometimes blocked gateways, making it impossible to pass through.Influenced by his father, Tashi participated in afforestation at a very young age.

In 2006, Tashi was elected as the Party chief of Sogorgya Village, and the prevention and control of desertification then became an obligatory duty for him. He led locals to plant more trees and fight against desertification.

He even took a loan of 150,000 yuan (about 23,200 U.S. dollars) to buy saplings to distribute to villagers to plant.

"It was hard to tell when the changes began. But seeing the land engulfed by sand become farther and farther away, flowers on the roadside blooming and crops getting denser, I knew that our hometown had really changed," said Tashi.

After his retirement in 2018, Tashi continues to dedicate himself to afforestation. He wanted to mobilize more locals including the elderly, women and children to plant trees, in a bid to further push forward the prevention and control of desertification and also increase locals' income.

Inspired by Tashi, more than 40 villagers from Sogorgya and neighboring villages joined in an ecological project in April 2020.

"Each villager can earn 140 yuan per day by planting trees. The project helped eight households shake off poverty," he added.

Thanks to their unremitting efforts, the desertification land area of the township dropped to 12.3 percent last year.

"Desertification control and afforestation have been handed down from generation to generation. I will protect the trees planted by my grandfather and father, and leave lucid waters and lush mountains for future generations," said Dainzin Nyima, son of Tashi.

Dainzin Nyima established a company to undertake local afforestation projects. He named the company "shuhai," which translates into English as a sea of trees. "I hope that one day my hometown will turn into a sea of trees."