Home / People
Liao Lichun's career began with a boom.
He became the manager of Lenovo's Guangzhou branch by the age of 24, and his own business was up and running by the time he was 28. A decade later, in 2004, his company's sales were running in the hundreds of millions annually. And then, his life flipped to a whole new chapter when he resigned from his position and entered a community service project, planting trees in deserts.
 |
|
Liao's dream is to turn desert into forest.[Photos/bjby.bjwmb.gov.cn] |
He has been volunteering since then.
In 2011, Liao started a self-sustaining volunteer organization dedicated to eradicating smog and pollution from China. Based in the provinces of Inner Mongolia and Hebei, he has led thousands of volunteers and planted millions of trees.
Each Friday afternoon or Saturday morning, he leaves with a band of volunteers from Beijing, and spends the weekend planting trees at a chosen destination. They return on Sunday.
Unwavering, the volunteers fight through wind and rain. Sometimes, in bad weather, one could end up with a mouthful of sand. But the procedures are always the same: Liao gives the assignments, the volunteers take their spades, and scatter.
Build a fence, loosen the soil, dig a hole... Hands turn calloused, and blisters emerge. But Liao always persisted in his work, setting himself as a role model to the newer volunteers, who eventually crowned him “King of Spades”.
 |
|
Liao has a diverse array of volunteers. |
Even after the trees have been planted, Liao is still careful about the science of nurturing them. He makes sure the trees are watered every week, even taking into account the temperature, weather, and time of year when caring for them.
By 2014, Liao had invested over 10 million RMB in vehicles, accommodation, and other forms of support.
Nearly 80 batches of over 3,000 volunteers have been planting alongside Liao Lichun, culminating in millions of trees. In Inner Mongolia, the pines have already grown to waist height, and in two or three years will be taller than a man.
There will soon be five acres of desert covered in green.
 |
|
Liao's 23rd tree-planting activity. |
"The most important thing is to maintain a positive spirit,” said Liao. “If everyone does that, the whole country can look forward. My wish isn't just for the Earth's deserts; it's for the deserts in everyone's hearts as well.”
Edited by Wang Zili
