Xinhua, Hohhot, August 24 - Joy Ridge is not wide; its crest holds only a dozen pairs of feet. Sand, sagebrush and wildflowers are the most common things on this ridge. Sixty-seven-year-old "Sakoski" (real name Ronald Sakolski) steps up through the sandy soil as wind blows in from the forest beyond. Beside him walks Yin Yuzhen, who smiles and points at the ground beneath their feet: "This is called Huanxi Ridge - Joy Ridge."
He repeats the name after her, his pronunciation awkward but earnest.
This ridge once knew little joy.
In 1988, Yin Yuzhen and her husband hired a cow to carry tree saplings into the sand. Crossing this steep ridge, a trail of blood was dragged across the sand - the cow had calved midway through the journey. That batch of saplings turned out exceptionally tall. With double blessings arriving together, she gave the ridge this name. Ever since, whenever she hit hard times, she would climb to the crest and sit for a while. The sandy ridge is high and windy, and from it you can see far.
In 1999, "Sakoski" appeared on the scene. That year he had come from the United States to teach in Luoyang, and one day he came across the story of Yin Yuzhen's fight against the desert. He scraped together 5,000 US dollars and sent it to her. The following year he set foot in the Mu Us Desert for the first time, and the two met briefly. After that they never saw each other again - for 26 full years.
"From 1985 when I came to the sand, up to 1999, I planted more than 40,000 mu of forest and rarely saw another soul," Yin Yuzhen said. Suddenly an American friend had appeared, giving her such a large sum so she could keep planting trees - she no longer felt alone.
Now reunited, the two old friends could hardly contain their joy.
Standing on Joy Ridge and gazing into the distance, Yin Yuzhen's home lies not far away. Four generations of housing stand in a row, the newest small building hidden among green trees, its white walls catching the light. He said loudly: You deserve all of this.
