New Ideas Leading a New Journey: Inheriting the Spirit of Saihanba and Strengthening the Ecological Barrier of Beijing and Tianjin | Area | Beijing and Tianjin
CCTV News: Hebei Saihanba Machinery Forest Farm is the world's largest artificial forest and a vivid example of China's promotion of ecological civilization construction.Remember the instructions, the new generation of Saihanba people will vigorously promote the spirit of Saihanba, continue to struggle, and build a strong ecological barrier in Beijing and Tianjin.
In June, the Saihanba Machinery Forest Farm was lush with greenery. During this period, workers were carrying out afforestation operations under the canopy. In 2022, the afforestation direction of Saihanba will shift to understory afforestation, and broad-leaved forests will be introduced, using a mixed method of coniferous and broad-leaved trees to construct a multi tree species, multi-level, and composite forest structure.
More than 60 years ago, Saihanba was a plateau desert where yellow sand covered the sky and birds had no trees to perch. Today, the forest coverage here has reached 82%, which embodies the hard work and entrepreneurship of three generations of builders of Saihanba Forest Farm. In August 2021, General Secretary visited Saihanba Machinery Forest Farm for inspection. He emphasized that the construction history of the Saihanba Forest Farm is a poignant and arduous struggle. The three generations of forest farm workers have forged the Saihanba spirit of remembering their mission, hard work, and green development through practical actions, which has important demonstration significance for the national ecological civilization construction.
Saihanba is located in the northernmost part of Hebei Province and the southern edge of Hunshandake Sandy Land on the the Inner Mongolian Plateau. In 1962, in order to prevent the invasion of yellow sand, the former Ministry of Forestry established Saihanba Machinery Forest Farm. More than 360 builders with an average age of less than 24 years old gathered from 18 provinces across the country to go to the dam and began the arduous and excellent afforestation in the alpine sandy land.
In 1964, Saihanba pioneered mechanical planting of coniferous forests in China, with a survival rate of over 90%. This marked the beginning of large-scale afforestation in Saihanba. After the relay efforts of three generations of Saihanba people, the forest area of the forest farm has increased from 240000 mu in the early stage of construction to 1.151 million mu. Saihanba has successfully created a million mu artificial forest sea, creating a typical example in the history of world ecological civilization construction. The builders of the forest farm have won the highest honor of the United Nations environmental protection - the Earth Guardian Award, and the mechanical forest farm has been awarded the title of National Poverty Alleviation Model.
Protecting the ecological security barrier of Saihanba relies on scientific management. Starting from mid March each year, Saihanba enters a three-month spring fire emergency period, and the forest ranger Liu Jun and his wife stationed at Wanghai Tower increase the frequency of observation reports. Now, Saihanba has divided 1.151 million mu of forest land into 110 small areas, achieving a combination of satellite, drone, fire detection radar, video monitoring, mountain observation, and ground patrol, forming an integrated early warning and monitoring system.
Silent perseverance and selfless dedication, generations of Saihanba people are guarding the ecological security of Saihanba. Inspired by the spirit of Saihanba, many young people have come to this hot land to inherit the spirit of hard work and entrepreneurship from their predecessors, making Saihanba even more lush.
The people of Saihanba continue to work tirelessly for a long time. This year, the forest farm will cultivate 23000 acres of mixed forests. It is expected that by 2030, the area of forest land will reach 1.2 million mu, and the forest coverage rate will increase to 86%. Every year, 284 million cubic meters of water are conserved, about 860000 tons of fixed carbon dioxide are fixed, and over 598000 tons of oxygen are released, building a strong barrier for the ecology of the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region.
