Simply by walking every day, you now have the power to plant a tree in the desert. This is what millions of people in China have been doing, through a program sponsored by Alibaba's online payment platform Alipay. Nice idea in theory, but how does it work in practice? Our reporter Hu Chao went along to find out.

GENG GENG BEIJING RESIDENT "My name is Geng Geng. I've been using the 'Ant Forest' program for more than two years. Now I've turned ten virtual trees into real ones. I choose green travel every day to collect virtual green energy via the 'Ant Forest' program. In the past, I barely walked. But now I walk as much as possible. It's healthy and also rewards me with virtual green energy. In 2018, I went to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to check my real trees. It was impressive. There I saw lines of saxaul trees (suo suo trees) planted on sand dunes. I realized the green energy I collected every day in Beijing could help to improve the environment in the remote desert. I felt a deep sense of achievement."

The "Ant Forest" program translates your low-carbon activity into what's called "virtual green energy". Once you've generated enough of this, you qualify for a real tree. Some green public welfare organizations hire some local herdsmen to plant your real tree.

HU CHAO BEIJING "Geng Geng is among many young people across China who have been using the Ant Forest program. Now embracing a low-carbon lifestyle, collecting green energy every day and finally turning a virtual tree into a real one seems to have become fashionable among the young."

HU CHAO HANGZHOU, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE "The Ant Forest program was launched on Alipay by Ant Financial Services Group in August of 2016. The program has since attracted 400 million users and more than 50 million real trees have been planted. So how did the program achieve such success?"

Xu Di, the program's founder, attributes its stunning progress to two aspects. One, its convenience and, two, it's something that people are genuinely concerned about.

XU DI, GENERAL MANAGER SOCIAL GOOD DEPT., ANT FINANCIAL SERVICE GROUP "The success is not because it's entertaining and interactive, but because it's part of the public interest. We believe human nature is good. We lowered the threshold and cost to allow people to do good things. Users like to do small things every day to help protect the environment."

Xu said their parent company donates tens of millions of yuan to help run the program annually whilst it's also providing much-needed jobs in a highly under-developed area.

HU CHAO HANGZHOU, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE "Well, after all this talk, now let's go take a look at those real trees planted in the desert."

HU CHAO ALXA LEFT BANNER, INNER MONGOLIA AUTONOMOUS REGION "Well, we've arrived at the Alxa Left Banner of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. This was where the Ant Forest program began. More than 100,000 trees here have gone from virtual to actual, and are growing here now."

Nie Yusheng is one of the planters. His family used to earn a paltry annual income from livestock-grazing. But the program has allowed them to live much more comfortably of late.

NIE YUSHENG, HERDSMAN ALXA LEFT BANNER, INNER MONGOLIA AUTONOMOUS REGION "My life has improved a lot. We make much more money now. We bought a car and various home appliances that we need."

The Ant Forest Program is just one example of how China is going greener. In fact, a new study based on NASA satellite data, has revealed that China and India-the world's most populous nations-are the leaders in this area. And, many say, those who are contributing to this green drive should be feeling very proud of their efforts. Hu Chao, CGTN, Beijing.