Yulin (ᨻL)
Finally, we headed to northern Shaanxi, the heart of the problem, to see the situation for ourselves.
The city of Yulin almost seems proud of its bustling coal industry, wearing its heavy cloud of pollution for all to see, as it would a badge of merit representing induction into the expanding number of Chinese towns industrializing at breakneck speed. Wafts of the stinging scent of coal are noticeable only on entering Yulin from any other cleaner area.
Here's a view of the city from our hotel window:
While our plane was landing that afternoon, the clear skies permitted a visual introduction to one section of the Loess Plateau. (The clarity on these pictures took a hit since they're through a thick and dirty plane window.)
Here you can see just how expansive the networks of erosion gullies are, though the areas shown in these pictures are not nearly as serious as what we saw on later days (but we couldn't shoot those from the air).
As we neared Yulin and the plane descended closer to the ground, we saw trees in various formations, in some cases intended to prevent erosion, and in others to block the advance of sands blowing in from the nearby Maowusu Desert. Here you can see the positive effects of blocking airborne particles and trapping organic matter:
Here are young trees literally dotting the tops of the mountains.
This is a very isolated section (and it's not exactly arranged in squares), but it shows the idea behind the "Three Norths Shelterbelts Project."
(Note: Next year Yulin will complete its new airport, but we got to land at the current one: a simple runway which ends at a parking lot.)
Yulin is also the site of Zhenbeitai (Âí¥_¥x), one of the Great Wall's three main forts. The fort itself is nothing but an utterly boring squarish mass of stone; nearby, however, are eroded remnants of the original Great Wall which, as you've probably assumed already, cuts through the Yulin area (heading in a southeasterly direction).
Heavily eroded watchtowers and ridges of raised ground are all that remain of this section of the Great Wall, here seen snaking towards Zhenbeitai in the distance.
