Answering the call, the Air Force assembled aircraft, trained crews and flew west to embark on the aerial seeding project that has lasted for decades. In 1982, the brigade successfully completed their first sowing mission in Linxia prefecture, Gansu province, despite lacking sufficient information, equipment and experience.

Although aerial seeding may sound as easy as spreading seeds from the air to the ground, Xin Jiacheng, the brigade's commander, said it is quite difficult and requires lots of professional techniques.

Each sown area is divided into 50-meter-wide belt zones, and the amount of seeds sown per square meter is scientifically planned, Xin said.

The optimum height for seed dropping is exactly 50 meters, and pilots must maneuver aircraft to maintain that height during sowing. This is considered an ultra-low-altitude operation and has been practiced tens of thousands of times.

"There's a lot to ask of a pilot when it comes to how we should fly and how to sow," Xin said. "If we don't fly straight, the green belt zone will be curvy looking from above, and if you miss a section, the chain may break and the surrounding vegetation may not live."