Passing down the firepower from generation to generation, three generations have propped up Kekeya’s “green barrier”

Kekeya means "green cliff" in Uyghur. Once upon a time, there was almost no cyan color on this "cliff". It is located on the northern edge of the Taklimakan Desert and is the main source of sandstorms in the Aksu region. During the monsoon every year, sandstorms sweep across the area around Kokoya.

“Trees are planted every year, and every year there is drought, the old place is planted every year.” This was a local jingle from the past. Since the late Qing Dynasty, local officials have tried to afforestation in Kekeya, but they have never been able to make this barren beach "green".

In 1986, the Kekeya Desert Greening Project was launched. The following year, the Kokoya Three-North Shelterbelt Management Station was established, and Imam Maimeti was transferred from Tarim University to serve as the station’s first director. The first batch of saplings on 2,000 acres of land were planted that year, and the task of management and care was entrusted to him.

"I am a member of the Communist Party, and this task must be completed." Yimamu recalled that during that time, people of all ethnic groups in Aksu came to plant trees every day. When the wind blew, the sky was filled with sand. Everyone worked day and night to plant trees one by one in the Gobi Desert.

The trees are planted in March and green appears in June, and the first batch of poplar seedlings grow out. "I cried at that time and was very happy." Yimamu said. The survival rate of saplings planted in spring this year was about 87%; the survival rate of 1,200 acres of saplings planted in autumn was as high as 98%. After the success of autumn afforestation, the Aksu region has promoted the experience of spring and autumn afforestation.

On November 4, Imam Maimaiti (right) and Eskar Imam (left) were interviewed at the Kokoya Memorial Hall. Photo by Jin Zhicheng

The trees are alive, but there are not enough people to care for them. Imamu wanted to call his son Eskar Imamu, who is in high school, to help. Eskar cried and made a fuss and didn't want to go. His father's answer was very decisive: "I am the stationmaster. I won't let my son go. How can other employees go? People in the city will not go, and who will take care of the trees in Kokoya?"

As the days passed, Eskar gradually adapted to the work here. He said that as he saw the management area getting larger and larger and the vegetation growing more and more, he didn't want to leave. He had been working there for more than 30 years.

The picture shows Kekeya after the implementation of the greening project. Photo courtesy of Aksu Prefectural Committee Propaganda Department

Under the "green relay" of forest rangers, the forest coverage rate in the Aksu region has increased from 3.35% in the 1980s to 9.1%, the area of artificial forests has expanded from 740,100 acres to 5.66 million acres, and the average annual sand and dust weather has dropped from about 100 days to about 30 days. This "green cliff" was planted from tree to tree and preserved by generations of people.

Today, Yimamu’s grandson is also following in the footsteps of his ancestors and fathers, enrolling in university and studying horticulture, continuing the family’s forestry path.

On November 4, Imam Mamet was interviewed at the Kokoya Memorial Hall. The picture shows Imam Maimaiti introducing the photo of three generations of his grandfather and grandson in the same frame. Photo by Jin Zhicheng

The legacy is passed down from generation to generation, which not only reflects the expectations of the elders for their descendants, but also the embodiment of Ke Keya spirit in one family.

Forty years have passed since the Kekeya Desert Greening Project was launched, but retired Yimamu is still used to walking around in the woods. "Koko Ya is my doll, and every tree grows like my doll." Imamu said. (over)