Photo taken on July 23, 2013 shows workers making straw checkerboard sand barriers in Lingwu City, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The world has become a greener place than it was 20 years ago, largely thanks to China's reforestation efforts that are ambitious enough to have a significant impact on the global mission of cutting carbon emissions. Every March 21, the United Nations (UN) raises awareness of the importance of all types of forests, offering an opportunity for countries to reflect on their afforestation efforts. China's progress is noteworthy. A recent Boston University study tracking NASA satellites shows that over the last two decades, "the greening of the planet represents an increase in leaf area on plants and trees equivalent to the area covered by all the Amazon rainforests," with China and India leading the charge. The study also finds the world is getting greener overall, and China alone accounts for 25 percent of the global net increase in leaf area although the country holds only 6.6 percent of the global vegetated area. As a country that once suffered severe desertification, China's progress is stunning and marks a significant contribution to the global community. In 2018, China planted 7.07 million hectares of trees, and the country is home to the world's largest man-made forest. (Xinhua/Li Ran)