TAIYUAN, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Though retired, Zhao Shuhai, who is turning 70 years old, is busier than before. He has been leaving home before 6 a.m. for weeks, driving his newly designed seedling lifter into the mountains in rural Shanxi Province in northern China.
Crouching in a grove with sleeves rolled up, the retiree steadied a hollow cylindrical lifter as an assistant hammered it into the soil, cutting a clean root ball around the almond sapling. A firm but not compacted root ball ensures higher survival rate after transplanting.
The seedling lifter is the latest addition to Zhao's long list of inventions. Fascinated by discovering and solving everyday problems since childhood, Zhao, now the president of the invention association in the city of Yuncheng, has filed 90 patents over the past 30 years, with many of his inventions focused on ecological restoration.
Wednesday marked the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. As China prioritizes green and sustainable development, grassroots and practical innovations like Zhao's are emerging, contributing to the country's efforts to control desertification and advance ecological progress.
Zhao's passion for invention dates back to his teenage years, when he was sent to a rural village for farming after graduating from senior high school.
He spent his spare time watching mechanics repair diesel engines and soon became their most capable assistant. When the village needed a tractor but could not afford one, Zhao and his master decided to build one themselves, and eventually succeeded. The invention not only made waves across the village but also boosted Zhao's confidence.
"I've felt that every problem has a solution, as long as you're willing to put your mind to it," Zhao said.
He later joined the local power supply bureau, where his problem-solving habit soon found a new challenge. Noticing that cleaning insulators by hand was inefficient and that grime could cause blackouts, he developed a wind-powered cleaning ring, a device that uses natural wind to keep insulators clean at low cost. The device won him a gold medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva in 2014.
Having lived in Yuncheng for years, Zhao saw that local greening efforts were hampered by drought and low rainfall, resulting in poor survival rates of saplings on barren mountains. So he decided to develop a low-cost, easy-to-use water-retaining device for arid regions.
Inspired by dewdrops on plastic mulch, Zhao built a plant water-retaining canister called "SHUBAO." Buried near plant roots, the device collects and stores moisture from the surrounding environment, releasing it gradually during dry periods to sustain growth with minimal irrigation.
The invention was showcased in December 2024 at the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification as one of China's selected solutions for desert control.
The technology has been applied on the slopes of the Loess Plateau and in the deserts of northwestern China, with survival rates increasing significantly.
"The device is a brilliant solution addressing our water shortage," said Liang Yuming, a retired cadre of a local village, which has long suffered from drought.
Zhao is not alone in contributing to China's green drive. In north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, teenager Jia Mingxuan used steel tubes and recycled plastic bottles to design an automated planting tool that helps saplings withstand wind and drought. The invention won him the top honor at the Nuremberg International Invention Exhibition in Germany last year, when he was just 14.
Figures show that China boasts a forest coverage rate of 25.09 percent, with continued growth in forest area and stock and sustained reduction in desertified and sandy land, making it the country that has achieved the largest and fastest "green growth" globally.
As president of the local invention association, Zhao not only innovates himself but also encourages students and corporate researchers to invent during his visits to schools and R&D departments.
With Zhao's help, an organic fertilizer company in Yuncheng successfully patented a viable bacterial encapsulation technology that combines fertilizers with microbial agents, which helps improve local saline-alkali land and boost soil fertility.
"Zhao visited the company multiple times to explain patent application procedures and offered hands-on guidance," said Wang Kaicheng, manager of the company.
Zhao officially retired in 2017. Unlike most of his peers, who shifted their focus to their personal lives, he threw himself into grassroots innovation and community service.
Currently, he is busy fine-tuning his new seedling lifter in the field, aiming to transplant young almond saplings from Yuncheng to barren mountain slopes in nearby areas.
"I want to devote the rest of my energy to this land, hoping that one day, the Loess Plateau will be covered in green," Zhao said. ■
