On October 31, 2025, Professor Liu Mingting, a renowned Chinese botanist, desert-control expert, and former researcher at the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, passed away at the age of 92.

Throughout his life, he was deeply committed to the western frontier of China, dedicating decades of effort to desertification control. His story is one of patriotic dedication and selfless service—a legendary journey of turning barren sands into living green.

1. Sixty-Eight Years in the West — A Life Devoted to Science and the Nation

In 1957, upon graduating from the Department of Biology at Lanzhou University, Liu Mingting voluntarily applied to work in Xinjiang. From that moment, he dedicated his youth and his life to the most challenging front of the nation’s ecological battle—the deserts of the Taklimakan.

Undeterred by the harsh conditions, he ventured deep into the desert to study the ecology and adaptation of desert plants. During a comprehensive scientific expedition led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, he discovered and named several new species of tamarisk, including Tamarix taklamakanensis. In total, one-fourth of all Tamarix species in China were identified and named by him.

Yet Liu’s vision extended beyond discovery—he sought to bring science to life, to use it to transform the desert. His pioneering research on Tamarix chinensis (red willow) propagation, cultivation, and large-scale afforestation achieved unprecedented success. In the early 1980s, he raised seedling density from 50,000 to 500,000 plants per mu, with propagation yields reaching 120,000 seedlings per mu—setting a world record.

He led numerous national and regional research projects, establishing the world’s first Tamarix–Cistanche demonstration base—the Yutian Plantation. His work placed China at the forefront of global desertification control and ecological engineering.

2. Science Against the Sands — Creating the Miracle of “Man Advances, Desert Retreats”

Liu Mingting’s innovative “flood-based seedling method” opened a new path for large-scale desert greening.

In Cele County, Xinjiang, he and his team, together with local residents, worked tirelessly for three years. The result: 150,000 mu of desert turned green, and the dunes retreated for several kilometers—an awe-inspiring realization of “man advances, desert retreats.”

In 1995, at the first “World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought,” the United Nations Environment Programme awarded Liu’s project “Large-Scale Flood Irrigation for Red Willow Reforestation on Saline Sandy Land” with the Global Success Award for Desertification Control. Another of his projects, “Research on the Control of Moving Sands in Cele,” received the same honor.

Out of only four awards granted worldwide that year, two went to Liu and his team. International experts, deeply impressed, affectionately dubbed him “Liu Hongliu” — Liu the Red Willow.

3. Never Retiring — Bringing Science to the People

Even after his retirement in 1993, Liu Mingting chose to remain in Xinjiang.

He led his family deep into the harshest regions of Hotan Prefecture, guiding local farmers in cultivating Cistanche deserticola (desert ginseng), helping them escape poverty through science. Today, Hotan’s Tamarix–Cistanche plantations cover more than 380,000 mu, serving as both an ecological shield and an economic pillar for the region.

He often said: “Desert control is not only about greening the land—it’s about helping people live better lives.”

This simple truth encapsulated his lifelong faith and pursuit.

4. His Spirit Lives On — His Name Forever Etched in the Desert

Professor Liu Mingting’s scientific achievements were profound. He received the National Science and Technology Progress Award, was named a National Model for Ethnic Unity and Progress, and earned the Global Desertification Control Award, among many other honors.

He poured his scientific spirit into the vast deserts and proved with his life that science, when driven by conviction, can move mountains—or, in his case, sands.

After his passing, people across China mourned deeply. They called him “the man who knew red willows best,” and “the man who made deserts green.” The lands he once nurtured now stand as a living monument to China’s ecological resilience.

Though Liu Mingting has left us, his legacy endures.

In the depths of the desert, each red willow and every Cistanche sprouting from the sand is an everlasting memorial to his life’s devotion.

He has gone, yet the red willows still grow.

He has left, yet his spirit will never wither.