Ronald Sakolsky (C, front) attends a China-U.S. teacher education exchange symposium at a high school in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Aug. 26, 2026.
Ronald Sakolsky, accompanied by Yin Yuzhen, a national model worker, visited Hohhot in Inner Mongolia on Wednesday.
Yin has spent four decades planting trees across northern China's Maowusu Sandy Land, the country's fourth-largest sandy area. Her life-changing cross-border friendship dates back to 1999. That year, Sakolsky watched a TV report covering Yin's arduous sand-control work while teaching in China. Deeply moved, he raised 5,000 U.S. dollars to fund her afforestation work.
The donation enabled Yin to purchase and plant more than 50,000 saplings. Those saplings have since grown into a sprawling forest, turning barren dunes into thriving green space. Earlier this year, Yin reconnected online with her long-lost American friend, who traveled to China on Sunday to revisit the forest he helped create and meet Yin in person. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)
A student asks questions during a China-U.S. teacher education exchange symposium at a high school in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Aug. 26, 2026.
Ronald Sakolsky, accompanied by Yin Yuzhen, a national model worker, visited Hohhot in Inner Mongolia on Wednesday.
Yin has spent four decades planting trees across northern China's Maowusu Sandy Land, the country's fourth-largest sandy area. Her life-changing cross-border friendship dates back to 1999. That year, Sakolsky watched a TV report covering Yin's arduous sand-control work while teaching in China. Deeply moved, he raised 5,000 U.S. dollars to fund her afforestation work.
The donation enabled Yin to purchase and plant more than 50,000 saplings. Those saplings have since grown into a sprawling forest, turning barren dunes into thriving green space. Earlier this year, Yin reconnected online with her long-lost American friend, who traveled to China on Sunday to revisit the forest he helped create and meet Yin in person. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)
Ronald Sakolsky (C, front) and Yin Yuzhen (L, front) visit the Inner Mongolia Museum in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Aug. 26, 2026.
Ronald Sakolsky, accompanied by Yin Yuzhen, a national model worker, visited Hohhot in Inner Mongolia on Wednesday.
Yin has spent four decades planting trees across northern China's Maowusu Sandy Land, the country's fourth-largest sandy area. Her life-changing cross-border friendship dates back to 1999. That year, Sakolsky watched a TV report covering Yin's arduous sand-control work while teaching in China. Deeply moved, he raised 5,000 U.S. dollars to fund her afforestation work.
The donation enabled Yin to purchase and plant more than 50,000 saplings. Those saplings have since grown into a sprawling forest, turning barren dunes into thriving green space. Earlier this year, Yin reconnected online with her long-lost American friend, who traveled to China on Sunday to revisit the forest he helped create and meet Yin in person. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)
Ronald Sakolsky (1st R) visits the Inner Mongolia Museum in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Aug. 26, 2026.
Ronald Sakolsky, accompanied by Yin Yuzhen, a national model worker, visited Hohhot in Inner Mongolia on Wednesday.
Yin has spent four decades planting trees across northern China's Maowusu Sandy Land, the country's fourth-largest sandy area. Her life-changing cross-border friendship dates back to 1999. That year, Sakolsky watched a TV report covering Yin's arduous sand-control work while teaching in China. Deeply moved, he raised 5,000 U.S. dollars to fund her afforestation work.
The donation enabled Yin to purchase and plant more than 50,000 saplings. Those saplings have since grown into a sprawling forest, turning barren dunes into thriving green space. Earlier this year, Yin reconnected online with her long-lost American friend, who traveled to China on Sunday to revisit the forest he helped create and meet Yin in person. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)
Ronald Sakolsky takes photos of dinosaur fossils at the Inner Mongolia Museum in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Aug. 26, 2026.
Ronald Sakolsky, accompanied by Yin Yuzhen, a national model worker, visited Hohhot in Inner Mongolia on Wednesday.
Yin has spent four decades planting trees across northern China's Maowusu Sandy Land, the country's fourth-largest sandy area. Her life-changing cross-border friendship dates back to 1999. That year, Sakolsky watched a TV report covering Yin's arduous sand-control work while teaching in China. Deeply moved, he raised 5,000 U.S. dollars to fund her afforestation work.
The donation enabled Yin to purchase and plant more than 50,000 saplings. Those saplings have since grown into a sprawling forest, turning barren dunes into thriving green space. Earlier this year, Yin reconnected online with her long-lost American friend, who traveled to China on Sunday to revisit the forest he helped create and meet Yin in person. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)
Ronald Sakolsky (L) interacts with Zhang Xiao, a teacher who took part in China-U.S. teacher exchange activities, during a China-U.S. teacher education exchange symposium at a high school in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Aug. 26, 2026.
Ronald Sakolsky, accompanied by Yin Yuzhen, a national model worker, visited Hohhot in Inner Mongolia on Wednesday.
Yin has spent four decades planting trees across northern China's Maowusu Sandy Land, the country's fourth-largest sandy area. Her life-changing cross-border friendship dates back to 1999. That year, Sakolsky watched a TV report covering Yin's arduous sand-control work while teaching in China. Deeply moved, he raised 5,000 U.S. dollars to fund her afforestation work.
The donation enabled Yin to purchase and plant more than 50,000 saplings. Those saplings have since grown into a sprawling forest, turning barren dunes into thriving green space. Earlier this year, Yin reconnected online with her long-lost American friend, who traveled to China on Sunday to revisit the forest he helped create and meet Yin in person. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)
Ronald Sakolsky (1st R) visits the Inner Mongolia Museum in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Aug. 26, 2026.
Ronald Sakolsky, accompanied by Yin Yuzhen, a national model worker, visited Hohhot in Inner Mongolia on Wednesday.
Yin has spent four decades planting trees across northern China's Maowusu Sandy Land, the country's fourth-largest sandy area. Her life-changing cross-border friendship dates back to 1999. That year, Sakolsky watched a TV report covering Yin's arduous sand-control work while teaching in China. Deeply moved, he raised 5,000 U.S. dollars to fund her afforestation work.
The donation enabled Yin to purchase and plant more than 50,000 saplings. Those saplings have since grown into a sprawling forest, turning barren dunes into thriving green space. Earlier this year, Yin reconnected online with her long-lost American friend, who traveled to China on Sunday to revisit the forest he helped create and meet Yin in person. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)
Ronald Sakolsky (R, front) shakes hands with a child while visiting the Inner Mongolia Museum in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Aug. 26, 2026.
Ronald Sakolsky, accompanied by Yin Yuzhen, a national model worker, visited Hohhot in Inner Mongolia on Wednesday.
Yin has spent four decades planting trees across northern China's Maowusu Sandy Land, the country's fourth-largest sandy area. Her life-changing cross-border friendship dates back to 1999. That year, Sakolsky watched a TV report covering Yin's arduous sand-control work while teaching in China. Deeply moved, he raised 5,000 U.S. dollars to fund her afforestation work.
The donation enabled Yin to purchase and plant more than 50,000 saplings. Those saplings have since grown into a sprawling forest, turning barren dunes into thriving green space. Earlier this year, Yin reconnected online with her long-lost American friend, who traveled to China on Sunday to revisit the forest he helped create and meet Yin in person. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)
Ronald Sakolsky (back) embraces Yin Yuzhen during a China-U.S. teacher education exchange symposium at a high school in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Aug. 26, 2026.
Ronald Sakolsky, accompanied by Yin Yuzhen, a national model worker, visited Hohhot in Inner Mongolia on Wednesday.
Yin has spent four decades planting trees across northern China's Maowusu Sandy Land, the country's fourth-largest sandy area. Her life-changing cross-border friendship dates back to 1999. That year, Sakolsky watched a TV report covering Yin's arduous sand-control work while teaching in China. Deeply moved, he raised 5,000 U.S. dollars to fund her afforestation work.
The donation enabled Yin to purchase and plant more than 50,000 saplings. Those saplings have since grown into a sprawling forest, turning barren dunes into thriving green space. Earlier this year, Yin reconnected online with her long-lost American friend, who traveled to China on Sunday to revisit the forest he helped create and meet Yin in person. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)
A single purchase
