Desertification has affected the lives of many nomads in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. In Kubuqi, the seventh largest desert in China, many nomads were relocated to new villages. As the once barren desert slowly became the green fertile land it is today, along came tourism, and a better life for the locals. CGTN reporter Hu Chao has the story of one former nomad.

40-year-old Meng Ke Da Lai loves the trees he once planted in the Kubuqi Desert just a few kilometers from his home. Twelve years ago, his family lived in the desert, making a living by grazing livestock.

MENG KE DA LAI, FORMER NOMAD HANGJIN COUNTY, ERDOS "We were unwilling to move. We were the last family that moved into the new village. We were afraid we wouldn't make any money in the new place."

Meng Ke Da Lai's worries soon went away after they moved to their new home in 2006. Now he has become a business star in the village. He runs a restaurant in his home and provides lodging for tourists. In peak seasons, he receives up to two hundred visitors a day.

MENG KE DA LAI, FORMER NOMAD HANGJIN COUNTY, ERDOS Male "We used to eat home-made yogurt when we were hungry. Now we sell it to tourists to make money. The difference makes me feel very happy."

Now Meng Ke Da Lai's family lives in a big house with modern facilities. But it's hard for most visitors to imagine their old living conditions.

HU CHAO HANGJIN COUNTY, ERDOS "This is where the former nomads used to live, about 10 kilometers outside their new village. This abandoned yurt is an icon of a now deserted land. With frequent sand storms, life was much harder here than we have now."

The past three decades saw the desert turn green and fertile, and more roads were built. Beautiful views in the desert are attracting more and more visitors, which boosted local tourism. With a knack for doing business, Meng Ke Da Lai also started to run desert entertainment ventures, like sand motorcycling and boat tours in the lake. And the former nomad can still graze his livestock on a fixed yet more plush area of grassland. Now his family makes 300,000 yuan a year, 30 times their past income.

MENG KE DA LAI, FORMER NOMAD HANGJIN COUNTY, ERDOS "This year I set up my own company and cooperated with 24 local families to run tourism businesses. And I think we can explore even more business opportunities."

And Meng Ke Da Lai never forgets what turned this life in the desert around, planting trees. Now his family still plants trees across an area of 2 million square meters.

MENG KE DA LAI, FORMER NOMAD HANGJIN COUNTY, ERDOS "The way to happiness is through the fight against desertification. We used to suffer poverty and felt inferior. But now with successful businesses, our mindset has changed and we feel so confident now."

Hu Chao, CGTN, Erdos, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.