I remember when I was young; my mother often described the beauty of the grasslands through this poem: “tian cang cang, ye mang mang,feng chui cao di xian niu yang”. it means in English “Clear skies, sweeping plains, the grass bowing before the wind, revealing grazing horses and sheep.” I could recite this even before entering primary school.

16years ago, my mother visited one of the grassland of Inner Mongolia. She said that no words could describe it’s stunning natural charm. With her description firmly printed on my mind I began to long for a tour to the grassland.

Sadly, this marvelous image that I had in my mind changed completely when my mum and I visited the grassland a year ago. As soon as we got there, I couldn’t believe my eyes. What was in front of me was just a piece of land with loosely grown grass. In the far distance I saw only a couple of horses feeding lazily. I asked my mother: “Where is the lush, tall grass?” As puzzled as me, she said nothing. I was shocked to see the differences between the grassland in my dream and what was in front of me.

On the way home, I thought a lot and tried to find answers.

Now I am old enough to bring awareness to other people and share my dream for the grasslands. Overgrazing and extensive farming have ruined the grassland and so taken away the charm of our homeland. But I am confident that one day the grasslands will recover and its true wealth and beauty will be realized as long as everybody gives his contribution to restore our homeland.