They are white poplars, a most common kind of tree in the northwest of China, but they are by no means ordinary! They have neither a graceful posture nor spiral branches. You may think of them as not so beautiful. If beauty refers specifically to “a slender figure” or “twigs slanting sideways”, then they cannot be regarded as fine girls among trees. Nevertheless, they are big and tall, honest and upright, simple and plain, earnest and unyielding—and not without gentleness and warmth though. They are giants of manliness among trees! When you trudge through the melting snow of the plateau and see one or a row of white poplars standing firmly and proudly on the vast plains, how could you look upon them as nothing but trees?