Look at Hu Yangshu first.

I have seen many touching photos of autumn in Hu Yangshu from the computer and WeChat, and I have also heard that Hu Yangshu "lived for a thousand years, died for a thousand years, but lived for a thousand years." Legend has it. I haven't had a chance to meet Hu Yangshu directly. I traveled to Xinjiang a few days ago and finally saw it! Because Hu Yangshu is green in summer, there are not many dead and deformed old poplars in Populus euphratica forest, and there is not much visual impact. However, facing Hu Yangshu in front of me, I was deeply moved by the introduction of the tour guide, stroking its hard and rough body and bark, and tears swirled in my eyes. Looking at this forest, I don't want to leave for a long time.

Hu Yangshu grew up in the Gobi desert or sand dunes, and the land is saline-alkali land, which is very barren. I felt the sand, but there was no water, only frost. How did Hu Yangshu grow and continue? It turns out that its roots can go deep into the stratum below 20 meters to absorb water, leaves and branches can discharge excessive saline-alkali in the body to form "Populus euphratica tears" on the tree body, and the thick trunk will precipitate saline-alkali into the tree core to corrode itself, forming a hollow Hu Yangshu. What is even more surprising is that Hu Yangshu is a kind of poplar with variable leaves. Leaves on a tree grow from bottom to top in different shapes and colors. The leaves at the bottom are slender as thin willow leaves, and the middle is rhombic or oval. A variety of leaf shapes on a tree cooperate with each other to adapt to the external environment, so it is also called Populus deltoides. Under the blue sky, the leaves of Populus euphratica show green luster. There are also gray-green drought-tolerant plants such as red willow, seabuckthorn, thorn tooth and Achnatherum splendens, which are sparse gray and equally tough.

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Looking at this tenacious and peculiar Populus euphratica forest, I can't help thinking that the vast Gobi Desert, harsh natural environment and hot weather, hardworking Xinjiang people are as tenacious and as smart as Hu Yangshu. They founded the karez project on this barren land a long time ago. Through several generations of excavation and construction, the people of Xinjiang have built more than 1000 karez wells in Turpan and other places for thousands of years, with a length of more than 5,000 kilometers. Karez, Wan Li Great Wall and Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal are listed as three ancient projects in China. The people of Xinjiang stubbornly persist in building their own land, irrigating the land with water sources such as Karez, turning the desert into an oasis and turning the hot barren land into a home with fragrant melons and fruits.

? Hu Yangshu is developing very slowly. We see that the five-year-old Populus euphratica saplings are like a few grasses, and the thirty-year-old Hu Yangshu is like the biennial saplings we usually see. But there is still a large area of Populus euphratica forest in the desert or Gobi desert. Why hasn't it been cut down? It turns out that Populus euphratica can be preserved because it is salty and alkaline, hollow, not tall and straight, and can't be used as furniture or firewood. Visible, "useless" materials can last forever, but Hu Yangshu is by no means a useless tree. The cool leaves of Populus euphratica can be used to reduce fever, and the ash of Populus euphratica branches can stop bleeding. More importantly, Hu Yangshu is cold-resistant, heat-resistant, salt-tolerant, and sandstorm-resistant, and has strong adaptability to large temperature changes. It can play a good role in preventing wind and fixing sand, and Populus euphratica forest has become a shelter forest in the desert, so Populus euphratica forest is praised as a "desert hero" by the people of Xinjiang. The local people cherish green and admire Hu Yangshu's tenacious dedication, calling Hu Yangshu a hero and a tree of contribution.

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Galloping on thousands of kilometers of highways in Xinjiang, in addition to the beautiful landscape, the more striking landscape is the Gobi Desert and Dune Desert in vast expanse. At the same time, there will always be endless cotton fields, potato fields, soybean fields, sunflower fields, grapevines and so on. It puts green clothes and carpets on the desolate Gobi Desert. On one side are neatly arranged fields, which are spectacular. The contrast between desert and field is great. The emergence of these fields or the reason why these fields can be planted is largely due to the dedication of the people of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. In 1950s, 200,000 hot-blooded men moved from the battlefield to the frontier, and people dug hand in hand. They didn't compete with the locals for land. In the most difficult environment, they dug canals to divert water, asked for fields from the Gobi desert, reclaimed land, defended the border and fought against the environment with sweat and wisdom. In the harsh environment of "the north wind is rolling, and In the snow is crossing the Tatar sky", they live in caves with tenacious spirit, chew cold steamed buns, transform and adapt to nature with their hands, dig canals, create 10,000 mu of fertile land, build cities such as Shihezi, and make great contributions to Xinjiang construction, multi-ethnic harmony and national construction. In the special three-year difficult period, they provided a lot of life-saving food for inland provinces. For the sake of frontier construction, they moved from the battlefield in the mainland to the desert without regrets, wrote a beautiful and magnificent battle song, and contributed to the youth and sweat of generations. Now three generations and four generations of the Corps are enjoying the fruits of their predecessors' labor and continue to contribute to the construction of Xinjiang. The construction corps of the older generation, they are the brave people of new Xinjiang, and they are the immortal heroes Hu Yangshu!

? Spanning between Tianshan Mountain and Kunlun Mountain, the endless Gobi Desert, sand dunes and deserts are displayed in front of the car from time to time, and a piece of Populus euphratica forest always appears from time to time. In order to adapt to the extreme environment of the desert, Populus euphratica, known as the "desert riparian forest", has a cool and amazing ability to "smell water, smell water and follow the water" in addition to its roots penetrating into the stratum below 20 meters. When it can't find water, it will selectively give up itself, let it die, and let life grow and sprout on its new root system. Populus euphratica is very tenacious and indomitable, so there is a legend that "life will not die for a thousand years, death will not fail for a thousand years, and immortality will last for a thousand years". In fact, the longest life span of Hu Yangshu is only 500 years, and its "Millennium Immortality" is the reputation of its growth characteristics. The reproduction of Populus euphratica is more about the regeneration of its own roots than sowing. Before a Hu Yangshu died, it had sprouted slowly around its root system, which was not only its offspring, but also its own life continuation. Because the lateral root system of Populus euphratica is 215m, there is a considerable distance between individual trees in Hu Yangshu, but Populus euphratica always stands. They joined forces to prevent wind and sand and persist in survival! Hu Yangshu's death was due to natural factors such as drought and water shortage or lightning strike; "It won't fall for a thousand years" is because Hu Yangshu's strong roots are tightly woven into a net and firmly fixed on the sand, standing still; "Millennium Immortality" is mainly caused by the surface environment of arid desert, which makes it a "mummy" and stands upright in the desert.

In autumn, chlorophyll content in Populus euphratica leaves decreased, while protective pigments such as flavonoids and lutein increased. On the one hand, it enhances the adaptability of plants, and at the same time, the strong Populus euphratica forest shines with golden light, forming a charming landscape. Seeing Populus euphratica in autumn is the yearning of every artist and photographer.

Although it is summer, Populus euphratica forests with different branches still have a breathtaking charm. The endless Populus euphratica forest and Gobi Desert coexist harmoniously. Some of them soar into the sky, some soar into the sky, some are fragmented, some are lush and graceful, some are as small as grass, some are dry and black, and they stab the sky. They are rooted in the desert like tree spirits with souls. Although I met them for the first time, their character and spirit deeply touched me.

? Hu Yangshu, a strong tree and a dedicated tree, declared war on death with unyielding will, demanded from nature and dedicated to nature and human beings. Survival is a struggle, hard work and tenacity are your will, the desert Gobi is your stage, and the yellow sand and salinity dress up your beautiful face and posture.

The spirit of Hu Yangshu made everyone standing in front of it bow to their knees. We pay tribute to the unyielding Hu Yangshu, the industrious people of Xinjiang and the production and construction corps that dedicated their youth to the frontier!

? July 9, 1965 438+09