"Hope is the beauty that depends on existence. When there is existence, there is hope, and when there is hope, there is light." Mr. Lu Xun's words tell us the importance of hope in life. The virtue in adversity is perseverance.

The virtue in good times is temperance. In many difficult situations, it is the persistence of small people that makes greatness appear greater.

There are always some ordinary people doing extraordinary things, selfless and fearless. The Poplar euphratica tree is the hero tree of the desert. Grandpa Bandu, who protected the Poplar euphratica forest with his life, also lived as a desert Poplar euphratica man, guarding this place with his years and blood and sweat.

Land, never leave it.

Grandpa Bandu, who was born in Ejina Banner, Inner Mongolia in 1937, is now 83 years old. The place where he grew up is located on the edge of the Badain Jaran Desert, the third largest desert in my country. Due to the harsh environment of perennial drought, the place where he grew up is The herders living nearby have moved away one after another over the years, and in the end only Mr. Bandu and his family remained on the 40-kilometer radius.

The Ejina River near Mr. Bandu's home, also called the Heihe River, leads to the Juyan Sea. In the last century, the Heihe River has been nourishing this desert Gobi with its weak trickles, allowing oases to grow here and nurturing the

Herders have lived here for generations.

However, since the 1980s, as the amount of water flowing down from the upstream has continued to decrease, the Heihe River has also dried up. The more than 50,000 acres of Populus euphratica forest contracted by Mr. Bandu in the Gobi is also facing the risk of water shortage.

It is also an important reason for the degradation of grassland and the withering of Populus euphratica.

Since then, the old man has been looking for a place to dig a well on this land. Over the past 40 years, the attempts again and again have turned into the experience accumulated by the old man when drilling wells. In the desert, every drop of water is

Like a life-saving sweet spring, he didn't know where there was water or where there was more water. He could only find it bit by bit. Grandpa Bandu traveled all over the desert and finally dug 11 wells for the Populus euphratica forest here.

There is no longer an oasis for plants to grow, nor is there an environment suitable for animals to live in. The home that is no longer the same as before has turned into a desolate area where life is rare.

In order to save the poplar trees that were dying due to drought and water shortage, even though the local government had arranged a house for him to live in the city, Mr. Bandu still refused to leave the land where he grew up and gave birth to him.

His land is just to be covered with the green shade of the past, so that the 58,000 acres of Populus euphratica forest it protects can once again bloom in the Gobi.

Populus euphratica is a heroic tree. It grows tenaciously and unyieldingly in the most difficult place for life to survive. In this battlefield desert in Ejina, the intelligent life of each Populus euphratica tree and an old man who is as tenacious as Populus euphratica last forever.

Stay here together and live towards death.

All greatness comes from a brave beginning. Even if you know that your life is small, you still have the courage to change without forgetting your original intention. The unshakable mountains will be slowly removed with shovels and baskets, and the grassland that has been deserted for a long time will

It will also grow life again with watering again and again.

Starting from 3 years ago, when the old man Bandu proposed to plant poplar trees on this land, his son and daughter strongly opposed their father. Their unrealistic ideas made them feel that their father's behavior was undoubtedly asking for it.

Not only is it extremely expensive to dig wells and build dams on the deserted land, but there is also little hope that the saplings planted will survive. With the opposition of the whole family, for the old man Bandu, it seems that it is difficult to realize this dream.

more difficult.

"I am old, but the old place cannot grow old, and Populus euphratica cannot grow old. I want them to be the same as before." The original intention is the starting point of everyone's struggle. Protecting Populus euphratica is the original intention of Grandpa Bandu. "I was born in this place."

, I will stay here for the rest of my life, and the Populus euphratica here needs me." Using his life to dig out deep wells, and using his faith to save dead trees, Grandpa Bandu's persistence and belief moved his family and allowed this place to grow again.

The green shade has become the persistence and hope of Mr. Bandu’s family for more than two years.

11 wells often only have three or four barrels of water after being drilled for a day or two. The grassland is severely desertified. On the dry land, Mr. Bandu and his family use the few well water and their own sweat to water the tree he cares for.

sapling.