Healing scars left by mining as part of China's green transition

TIANJIN - It may be hard to imagine that the green mountains in Jizhou district, North China's Tianjin municipality, used to be covered with scars left by the overdeveloped mining industry.

Locals deemed the mining pits to be "Earth's scars," which have been gradually healed and turned green again in recent years amid China's green development and endeavors to restore ecosystems.

China observes its 44th National Tree Planting Day on March 12. Fourteen-year-old Meng Jiayi and his friends, together with their parents, have chosen to spend the day planting trees at the foot of a mountain in the district.

"Afforestation is of great importance to environmental protection," Meng said.

With abundant mineral resources, Jizhou district was once a major construction material base for Tianjin. From the 1980s to the 1990s, there were more than 400 local enterprises involved in the booming mining sector.

In 2014, the district launched an ecological restoration campaign which has seen nearly 30,000 trees planted. Many locals and companies have also participated in a "healing campaign" to cover former mining sites with more vegetation.

"Just like our slogan 'Healing the Earth and you,' we hope the participants will pass on the love during their efforts to plant trees," said Wang Lihua, organizer of the tree planting activity that Meng participated in.

Chinese citizens voluntarily planted approximately 78.1 billion trees from 1982 to 2021 across the vast country. Over the past two decades, China's newly added vegetation reached about one quarter of the global total increase, ranking first worldwide, official data showed.

"Planting trees is not only a slogan, but an ecological civilization concept deeply rooted in each of us," said Yang Qian, Meng's mother.

From the Saihanba afforestation community and the public welfare project Alipay Ant Forest, to the country's efforts to tame desertification in its Kubuqi desert and its surrounding areas, China has been striving to blaze an eco-friendly trail for the world's green and sustainable development, according to Gong Ke, president of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations.

Peng Xugeng, deputy general manager of China Xiong'an Group Ecological Construction Investment Co, Ltd, has participated in the afforestation of the Xiong'an New Area in north China's Hebei Province for four years.

Since the first tree sapling was planted in the Xiong'an New Area on Nov 13, 2017, Peng's team has grown over 26,000 hectares of forest in Xiong'an. Each tree has a unique QR code which records its specific information.

To create a sound environment that both human beings and wildlife can enjoy, the team came up with special designs during the afforestation work.

"We planted aromatic plants on the edge of the forest, which we expect will provide a pleasant environment for local citizens to relax in. We also grew some nectariferous plants and plants with fruit for animals to forage there easily," Peng said.

"With joint efforts, some natural saplings have appeared in the forest, which means the entire forest can expand and continue to develop in a sustainable way itself," Peng said.