A Chinese woman who has planted trees in the deserts of Inner Mongolia for decades has contacted an American man who donated US$5,000 to her and invited him to visit a forest that came into being because of his funding.

Yin Yuzhen, 60, was awarded as a National Model Worker by China’s State Council in 2000 for her long-term anti-desertification efforts.

Hailing from a poor family in northwestern Shaanxi province, Yin married a man who lives in Maowusu Desert in Inner Mongolia in the 1980s.

The desert, which is also known as Ordos Desert, is one of four major sandy lands in the country.

Since then Yin and her husband engaged in planting trees there by overcoming challenges brought by drought and high winds.

After Yin’s persistent efforts were reported by state media CCTV in 1999, Ronald Sakolsky, who taught English at Luoyang No 2 Foreign Language School in central Henan province at the time, was moved by her and donated US$5,000 to Yin.

“I have never seen such a big amount of money before. It made me surprised,” Yin told the news portal The Paper.