Description
In Gansu Province to the North of China, a part of the Minquin community feels the affects of desertification. Surrounded by the Tengri and Badanjilin deserts, the villages of the region are beginning to be engulfed underneath sand dunes, whilst trees die one after another and cultivation becomes impossible. In Huanghui, a local hamlet, the ground waters are so dry and rainfall so scarce that the inhabitants have no other choice but to bring up water from more than 300 meters below the ground! Consequently, the difficulty of life over the past few years has led many villagers to leave their homeland, which they have always known and to which they are sincerely attached. However, several elders have chosen to remain here: isolated, dispossessed of nearly everything and having being forced to make large sacrifices to adapt to their new environment, yet despite all, they refuse to leave. They prefer instead to remain close to their roots and try to fight against desertification, by planting trees to prevent the progression of the desert, and consequently protect their homelands and the many memories that they contain. Yet, despite their efforts, it is becoming increasingly clear that sooner or later they will be forced to leave also and thus abandon their native land. Following the story of these peoples, we are immersed in one of the ecological stakes of the 21st Century; the fight against desertification, a problem which largely overwhelms the Chinese frontiers. It’s worth remembering that many environmental specialists claim that one third of the earth’s surfaces are threatened by this phenomenonÂ…
