July 1 Medal recipient Ting Bater devoted to improving herders' lives in border areas

Ting Bater shares his knowledge on livestock breeding. [Photo by Ding Zhijun/People's Daily]

Ting Bater has spent nearly half a century helping improve the lives of herders in border areas while protecting the local environment in Xilingol League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, earning him a reputation as being a paragon of hard work.

Ting, former secretary of the CPC Committee of Sarultuya village, was recently awarded the July 1 Medal, the highest honor in the Party established by the CPC Central Committee.

In 1974, 19-year-old Ting Bater, as an educated youth, came to Sarultuya village of Abag Banner from the region's capital Hohhot, and has been working there ever since. Touched by the kindness and hospitality of local people, he gave up a chance to return to the city and devoted most of his life to the village. Thanks to his relentless efforts, the annual per capita income of local herders soared from 40 yuan (about $6.19) in 1978 to over 30,000 yuan today.

In the 1980s, Ting decided to develop the animal husbandry industry in a more eco-friendly and sustainable way, as grassland in Sarultuya, which sits on the northwest edge of Hunshandake Sandland, was in danger of desertification due to overgrazing. "The grassland is of critical importance for us local herders, and we must protect it," he said.

To strike a balance between grass and livestock, Ting took the lead in practicing rotational paddock grazing and planted many trees in his ranch, which was once hit hard by desertification. As a result, the grassland became very lush, enabling his cattle and sheep to grow fatter and allowing him to earn more. Seeing the great changes in his ranch, local herders followed suit.

Ting went on to guide herders to replace sheep with cattle to curb desertification, as he found sheep dig and eat the roots of the grass, while cows only eat the shoots. As a result, the local eco-environment was significantly improved.

After hearing about Ting, herders from other regions came to learn from his experience. Since Abag Banner established a training school for herders in Ting's ranch, he has given free training courses to tens of thousands of trainees every year.

"I designed and built my cattle pen, which is safe and convenient. I shared the details with my fellow herders, which will be helpful.”

Although Ting no longer serves as the village's Party chief, he still carries out investigations into local infrastructure construction, such as the road and power grids, so as to offer suggestions to relevant government departments.