IMAGE: Shanghai Media Group

The 75 Year Old Son’s dying wish “zhìyù” (志愿) was to Plant a Forest – now 63,495 standard basketball courts.

For the past 20 years, the 75-year-old grieving mother- Shanghai native Yi Jiefang – has dedicated herself to planting trees in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as part of a reforestation effort and to honor her late son. Her son, Yang Ruizhe, who died in a traffic accident in Japan in 2000, had a final wish – to plant a forest. In 2002, Yi returned to China to fulfill her son’s  dying wish “zhìyù” (志愿)..

Since 2004, Yi Jiefang, a dedicated Shanghai environmentalist,  sold her property and formed the non-for-profit organisation “Green Life”.  Yi has led over 50,000 volunteers from around the globe.

Planting more than 10 million trees, including cottonwoods, pines, saxaul trees, and Russian olives, in areas bordering the Gobi Desert transforming the vast desert areas into green landscapes.

Image credit: Astonishing. Yi Jiefang. In Inner Mongolia Forests that she procured with 50,000 volunteers.

This article was in part from Sixth Tone.