A forest park has been built on the inhospitable Gobi Desert at Shizuishan City in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

The park, covering a total of 266 hectares (657 acres), took five years to complete with local farmers removing gravel from the surface, adding a layer of earth and planting trees.

More than 60 rare plants, such as agave and cactus, are growing in the 2,600-square-meter subtropical botanical hall.

Shizuishan, a coal city in the desert, has been undergoing tree planting for decades as residents tried hard to improve the environment. Now the per-capita green area in the city has grown to 30 square meters.

The city plans to expand the park's acreage to 666 hectares (1,645 acres) in three years so as to make it a green passage at Helan Mountains.

(People's Daily June 28, 2002)