"Rice seedings could not have survived before, as the winds would have buried them with sand," Wang says. "But sandy winds are rare now and the rice we grow has become a brand product."
Enveloping the paddy fields are layer upon layer of tall poplar trees, forming a shield against the furious sandy winds from China's far west or Mongolia.
Wang Xinying, director of Fuxin's afforestation committee office, says, "Horqin has reversed the trend of desertification and the speed of afforestation has surpassed that of desertification."
Horqin was a grassland before overgrazing and drought turned it to sand. Desertification began as early as Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) when the emperors decided to cultivate the area.
Desertification pace accelerated during the large-scale farming movement of the Mao era.
In 1978, the Chinese government decided to build a "Green Great Wall" in the country's north to deal with water loss and soil erosion.
Forest coverage in Tongliao has increased from 8.9 percent in 1978 to more than 23 percent.
According to the State Forestry Administration, each year Horqin's newly forested area is an average 750,000 mu larger than the new sand area.
In Aerxiang Town, Zhangwu County, in southern Horqin, grass and wild flowers emerge among the pine trees in the sand dunes.
