Early in the 1970s, while living and working in Spain, Chen Maoping read a story in “National Geographic” about the Sahara Desert, and it captured her imagination. She became determined to live there.

The Sahara was already on its way to becoming a desert. Due to natural cycles, the area was losing moisture in the air. However, the loss of grasses due to overgrazing sped up the process.

In October 2023, Zhang brought Juncao grass seeds to Mauritania from a field in China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. He conducted comparative experiments on irrigation, fertilization, planting ...