In 1981, China began planting billions of trees to restore degraded land. Decades later, the 78-billion-tree effort produced a surprising outcome: it altered the water cycle, sending more rain to some regions while drying out others

China has pursued environmental restoration on a scale few other countries have attempted. One of the most recognizable examples is the Three-North Shelterbelt, better known as “The Great Green Wall,” a vast planting program designed to address desertification, protect land from erosion and reduce the impact of desert storms.

The program officially dates back to 1978, although the headline refers to the enormous expansion of tree planting that followed in the early 1980s. By 2024, China's state-sponsored media reported that the Great Green Wall had reached completion.