Reporter Qiao Ya, Wang Shouyi, Bai Yajun, reporter of Hebei Economic Daily, Jia Hongbo, correspondent Wang Tao
In the middle of summer, the Great Wall is dyed green for thousands of miles. Viewed from the air, the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty, located in Chongli District, Zhangjiakou City, is like a giant dragon entrenched in the meadow on the top of the mountain, and the sand barrier protective belt locks the sand sea.
Hebei is surrounded by Beijing and Tianjin and the Bohai Sea is an important ecological barrier between Beijing and Tianjin. Chongli is not only the main channel for the southern invasion of sand from the north, but also the key area for sand prevention and control in Hebei.
Chongli in summer is full of greenery, attracting many tourists to check in and take pictures. Photo by Wang Tao
"Our location is the Great Wall Ridge at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters, and next to me is the Ming Great Wall in Chongli. Looking at the green hills in the distance, Yang Jianzhong, the former head of the afforestation station of the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Chongli District, Zhangjiakou City, was quite emotional.
He joined the work in 1982 and has been working in the forestry team for 40 years. "Three Norths" Shelterbelt Project, Beijing-Tianjin Sand Source Control Project, Olympic Bid Project, Winter Olympics Event Corridor Greening Landscape Improvement Project...... Yang Jianzhong can be seen in every large-scale afforestation project. He has traveled to almost every mountain in Chongli, which side of the hill has an artificial forest, and what trees are planted in the artificial forest, he is "clear".
Recalling the situation when he first joined the work, Yang Jianzhong told reporters that in the 80s of the 20th century, the sandstorm weather was quite serious, and there were more than ten days of sand and dust weather a month, and the yellow sand on the road could be clearly seen when walking on the road.
Yang Jianzhong, former head of the afforestation station of the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Chongli District, Zhangjiakou City, inspected the growth of seedlings in the Great Wall Ridge of Chongli District. Photo by Wang Shouyi, a reporter from the Great Wall Network Jiyun client
In order to resist the wind and sand and improve the ecological environment, planting trees at the foot of the Great Wall has become a difficult task for local forest and grass people to overcome.
Chongli is located in the alpine region, with a seedling growth period of 109 days in the urban area and only 90 days in the core area of the Winter Olympics. The mountains of Chongli are undulating and rocky, and it takes more than half a day to dig a tree pit manually. The shortest distance from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain is also 300 meters, and it is very difficult to transport the seedlings transferred from other places to the mountain.
"From 2015 to 2022, we have implemented nearly 980,000 acres of afforestation and greening projects, and the forest coverage rate has increased from 51.83% to 71.53% now. The total forest area of the region has reached 2.508 million mu. This year, Chongli District plans to complete 40,000 acres of artificial afforestation and 55,000 acres of replanting and replanting of the sixth phase of the Sanbei Project, which is also a relatively large task in the city's afforestation area. Niu Zhigang, deputy director of the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Chongli District, Zhangjiakou City, said.
In ancient times, there was the Great Wall, and now there is the "Green Great Wall". After more than 40 years of hard work, the Three-North Shelterbelt Project has erected a solid green barrier on this land and has become a veritable "Green Great Wall".
After more than 40 years of afforestation, the forest coverage rate of Chongli District of Zhangjiakou City has increased significantly. Photo by Wang Tao
The changes that have taken place in Chongli are only a microcosm of Hebei's vigorous development of the "Three Norths" shelterbelt ecological project.
Since 1978, Hebei Province has completed the afforestation area of 40.87 million mu of the Three-North Project according to local conditions and fortification, the forest coverage rate of the project area has increased from 19.01% at the beginning of the project to 30.89%, and the forest stock has increased from 37 million cubic meters to 118 million cubic meters. The desertification and desertification land in the province have achieved "double reduction" for four consecutive monitoring cycles, Zhangjiakou and Chengde have changed from sandstorm strengthening areas to blocking areas, and the situation of "wind and sand pressing on Beijing" has been fundamentally changed. Up to now, the planting area of the main economic forests in the Sanbei Project Area of Hebei Province has reached 14.478 million mu, with an output of 5.615 million tons, accounting for 61.3% and 54.1% of the province respectively, and the output value of non-wood forest products such as forest medicinal materials, forest food, and flowers has reached 26.5 billion yuan. The Three-North Project has created a precedent for the construction of ecological projects in Hebei, and has accumulated experience in many aspects such as management mechanism and technical model, which provides a useful reference for the subsequent construction of ecological projects.
"In 2024, Hebei will take desertification prevention and control as the main direction of attack, focus on the main position of sandy land construction on the southern edge of Hunshandak, vigorously carry out afforestation and grass planting, mountain closure and afforestation, restoration of degraded forests, and tending of young and middle-aged forests, accelerate the promotion of the first batch of key projects of the sixth phase of the Sanbei project in 2024, complete the forest and grass construction task of 2.87 million mu, and promote the fruitful results of the three-north project." Wang Zemin, deputy director of the Hebei Provincial Forestry and Grassland Engineering Project Center, said.
From "sand into people retreat" to "green into sand retreat", sand prevention and control, galloping, long-term success, the former yellow sand in the land of Yanzhao glows with a new look, continuing to write the green legend. (Credit: Hebei Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau)