Twins spend 48 years planting forest to prevent mudslides

Xu Zhiqiang (L) and his twin brother Xu Zhigang walk through a cedar forest which together they have planted over the past 48 years. [Photo/xinhuanet.com]

An aerial photo of the twin brothers’ houses, surrounded by trees. [Photo/xinhuanet.com]

Aerial photo of the once barren Zhuangchuan village, now populated with many cedar and cypress trees. [Photo/xinhuanet.com]

Twin brothers from Dingxi city in Northwest China’s Gansu province have single-handedly “decorated” a barren mountainside over the past 48 years by planting thousands of trees.

For years, the intensely dry and arid landscape of Zhuangchuan village, located between the Tibetan and Loess plateaus, had been susceptible to mudslides after rain, so Xu Zhiqiang and his brother Xu Zhigang, both 68, decided to plant a forest to improve soil absorption.

Before the trees were planted, a river of mud would flow down the mountainside every time it rained.

In 1968, Xu Zhiqiang’s wife almost lost her life in a flood, and so he and his brother got to work planting trees to protect their lives and homes. “If it kept on like this, our home would be washed away by the floods,” said Xu Zhigang.

Planting trees is one thing, getting them to survive in a inhospitable climate is another. There is a saying in the area that it is easier to raise a child than grow a tree on the Loess Plateau.

In the first year, none of the trees survived.

With more experience, the brothers started to plant cypress and cedar trees in a checkerboard pattern, with a sand barrier to protect the soil. The trees began to thrive.

The village no longer suffers from mudslides, and the two elderly brothers continue planting trees to this day, ensuring the safety of the village. “The more we grow, the higher the survival rate will be,” said Xu Zhigang.