Today, green grass, Mongolian pine, pitch pine, and larch trees cover the Shipaogou area — what was once a barren ravine had transformed into his daily "green sanctuary".

Carrying scissors during his mountain patrols, he prunes crooked branches as if he is tending to his own children. "While the green hills and clear waters have taken shape, the transformation is not yet complete," he said.

Throughout history, Youyu had been a meeting point of agricultural and grassland civilizations, as well as a crucial passage for Shanxi merchants traveling to Mongolia. However, continuous wars had ravaged its ecology.

For over 70 years, Youyu had relentlessly pursued tree planting and afforestation to improve the environment. With nearly 130 million trees planted across almost 113,333 hectares, the county's forest cover surged from less than 0.3 percent to 57 percent. What was once a "barren land" had metamorphosed into a "green oasis".

In October 2024, the 19th annual session of the Global Forum on Human Settlements and the New Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards ceremony took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The submission from Youyu county, detailing the "70-year practice of desert control, afforestation, and ecological restoration", clinched the New Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Award.

Ma Zhanwen, Party secretary of Youyu, said, "Over the 70 years, Youyu's ecological civilization practice, through the diligent efforts of several generations, vividly exemplifies the 'lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets' concept of green development, paving a viable path for ecological restoration and sustainable development in desertified regions."