Saihanba National forest park in China - The green paradise

Saihanba was previously been home to abundant forest resources and high biodiversity 400 years ago. With a cool summer and lush vegetation, the area was set to be a royal retreat. However, deforestation and constant wars turned the area into a desert by the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). As the forest barrier was gone, sandstorms became more frequent. To stop sandstorms that kept threatening or event striking Beijing, Tianjin and other northern China cities, the Forestry Administration decided in 1962 to set the Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm, and sent 369 foresters, mostly in their 20s, to the area for tree planting.