Ding Yinhua, 69, a shepherd, opens the gate of a pen for sheep and goats at her house in the Gobi desert in Minqin county, Wuwei, Gansu province, China, April 18, 2021. Tree-planting has been at the heart of China's environmental efforts for decades as the country seeks to turn barren deserts and marshes near its borders into farmland but some of the farmers in Wuwei have begun to lose hope after decades trying to subdue the deserts. Despite the tree-planting, pastures have deteriorated in recent years as a result of declining rainfall in the spring and summer, Ding said. "It's just no good without rain. We don't have land so there's no other way: we just herd sheep. In 2015 and 2016, there was rain but since then there's been nothing, and you now have to wait until September," she said. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "SAND RAWLINS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES