In the early 1960s, in order to reduce the harm of sandstorms in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the state designated the Ministry of Forestry and Hebei Province to establish a mechanical forest farm on Saihanba, a plateau desert in Chengde, to resist the southward invasion of the Hunshandake and Horqin sandy lands. The first generation of afforestationers, represented by the protagonists Feng Cheng and Qin Xuemei, a 369-person land reclamation team composed of forestry college graduates and forestry cadres and workers from 18 provinces and cities across the country, led local cadres and the masses to kick off the struggle against nature.
