'Doctor' helps transform land as science harvests benefits

CHANGCHUN — Although 39-year-old Ma Wei is not a physician, he has earned the nickname "Dr Ma" among locals due to his remarkable ability to transform barren land into fertile soil.

Ma's typical day starts in the wee hours of the morning, as he rushes to a paddy field in Zhenlai county of Northeast China's Jilin province. There, he records data and checks the growth of nearly 100 saline-alkali tolerant crop varieties that he and his colleagues have carefully selected and cultivated.

Years ago, the field was nothing but a vast expanse of barren land, covered with a layer of white salt crust on the soil surface.