BEIJING, Feb. 4 -- The news that the Mu Us Desert will disappear in northwest China's Shaanxi Province became hot news in 2020. Behind this 'green miracle' created by the Chinese people is a team from the PLA Air Force. They flew China's first-generation independently-developed Y-5 transport aircraft in western China to sow tree seeds and grass seeds to the desolate land.

2020年，毛乌素沙地即将在陕西版图消失的新闻不断刷屏。这项中国人民创造的绿色奇迹背后，有这样一支人民空军队伍，他们在中国西部驾驶着中国第一代自主研发的运-5型运输机，将一粒粒小小的树种、草籽播撒向荒茫大地。

At the beginning of the 20th century, the natural environment in northwestern China was severely desertified. The violent winds in the Mu Us Desert between Shaanxi Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region continued to sweep sands and expand southward, forcing Yulin City in Shaanxi Province to move southward three times.

20世纪初，西北地区自然环境沙化严重，位于陕西省和内蒙古之间的毛乌素沙地狂风卷起漫天的流沙不断向南席卷、扩张，已经逼迫陕西省的榆林城三次南迁。

In 1982, the No.1 Group under a transportation search and rescue regiment of the PLA Air Force launched an aerial seeding and afforestation mission in west China. This Group was the first military unit to perform such a mission. Over the next 39 years, they have sprayed more than 10,000 tons of seeds over more than 300 seeding areas in above 130 counties (cities) throughout seven provinces (regions), including Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, and Ningxia. The operating area exceeds 26 million mu(17.3 trillion square meters).

1982年，空军某运输搜救团一大队开启了西部播种造林、治理沙化的飞播任务。该大队是全军最早执行飞播造林任务的部队。在长达39年的时间里，他们累计将1万多吨种子撒到内蒙古、川、黔、陕、甘、青、宁等7省（区）130多个县（市）、300多个播区，作业面积2600余万亩。

Some people wondered why the aerial seeding and afforestation mission has to use the Y-5 transport aircraft, now that the PLA Air Force has already commissioned many advanced models of aircraft. The reason is that the Y-5 has a very stable flying performance, especially good at low-altitude flight and being able to take off and land at airstrips. At the same time, it boasts an economical operating cost.

有人感到不解，空军已有许多先进的机型列装，为什么飞播造林还要开运-5型运输机？运-5被称为“绿色战鹰”，它飞行稳定、运行费用低廉，尤其是低空性能非常出色，可以在简陋的机场起降。

Aerial seeding and afforestation missions are mostly carried out in barren mountains and ridges, vast deserts, and Gobi wastelands. There are no control towers for aircraft, and the operations have to be completed at ultra-low altitudes, which are difficult and dangerous. The undulating Gobi, the unpredictable sand storms, and the erratic hot and cold air currents make it much more challenging to fly in the seeding areas, compared with regular training flights.

飞播造林大都在荒山野岭、茫茫沙漠和戈壁荒原展开，没有人烟、没有指挥塔台，而且要在超低空情况下完成作业，难度大、危险系数高。起伏不断的戈壁，说来就来的沙尘暴，飘忽不定的冷热气流，在飞播区飞行要比平时训练难得多。

Besides of the challenges from the nature, the pilots had to endure the honing of their willpower. With the dreams of becoming flying heroes, these pilots who graduated from military aviation schools ended up flying transport aircraft to sow seeds in the bleak natural environment in northwest China.

飞播的挑战不仅来自于大自然，还有对飞行员意志力的考验。这些从航校毕业憧憬着开战斗机翱翔蓝天的飞行员，却在西北萧瑟的自然环境开着运输机播种。

When I just graduated, I was just shamed to tell my instructor my duty. The first time seeing this endless sea of sand, I thought to myself that the seeds sowed could not grow," said the veteran pilot Zhang Jiangang. But when Zhang flew back to the area where he sowed after two years, the layer of green seedlings on the desert touched him deeply.

老飞行员张建刚说，“我刚毕业时，甚至不敢告诉飞行学院的老师自己被分到这个大队。第一次看到这一望无际的茫茫沙海，我在心里想，这样播下去的种子能长吗？”两三年后重飞之前飞播作业的区域时，沙漠上那一层绿苗苗，让他感动到说不出话来。

Thirty-nine years on from 1982, the aerial seeding and afforestation mission by the Air Force has never stopped. They have successfully air-seeded and afforested an area of 5.91 million mu (3.9 trillion square meters), and the vegetation coverage has increased from about 5 percent to the current 50.4 percent. They made the impossible possible. For now, the Yulin area of Shaanxi has transformed from a desert area to a granary with an oasis.

从1982年到现在，39年间，空军某运输搜救团一大队的飞播作业从未间断，成功飞播造林591万亩，植被覆盖度由飞播之前的5%左右增加到现在的50.4%，创造了将不可能变为可能的奇迹。陕西榆林地区由四望沙海、五谷不生的旧貌，变为四望绿洲、稻谷飘香的陕西粮仓。