Shaanxi farmer Niu Yuqin's crusade against the desert has not only rewarded her with financial security but also a place in the country's green hall of fame.
Ms Niu, 55, is one of the country's top female environmental protection warriors. Since 1984, she has planted thousands of trees covering more than 7,300 hectares of barren sandy land.
In 1993, she won a major environmental award from the United Nations for her achievements in desertification control.
Last year, when Zhu Rongji visited Shaanxi province, the then-premier - who is a known environmentalist - sought out Ms Niu to commend her.
With her short hair and modest outfit, the deputy to the National People's Congress is proud of her humble origins and grassroots background.
'I was an illiterate as I was too poor to go to school,' she says. 'But in 1988, I finished primary school by attending evening school at the age of 40.'
In 1983, the local government offered to pay farmers in return for planting trees on the edges of Mausu Desert on the southern Inner Mongolia Plateau.