Tide Observation | Construction of Ecological Barrier Engineering for the "Three North" Project | Three North | Engineering Ecological Barrier

On the vast territory of northern China, a "Green Great Wall" stretching for thousands of miles is constantly extending and expanding, which is China's "Three North" project.

He emphasized that strengthening the comprehensive prevention and control of desertification, deepening the construction of key ecological projects such as the "Three North", is related to China's ecological security, the construction of a strong country, and the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. It is a noble cause that benefits the present and the future.

Project initiation, pioneering large-scale ecological construction in China

"In those years, the sandstorms drove us away and we moved our homes 9 times." This is a childhood memory of Shi Guangyin, a recipient of the "July 1st Medal" and a national hero in desertification control, whose home was located on the southern edge of the Maowusu Desert.

Back then, the wind and sand filled the sky, and sand entered and people retreated, not just in one place and one domain. The Three North Region is home to eight major deserts, four major sandy areas, and vast Gobi in China. By the late 1970s, a ten thousand mile sandstorm line had formed from Heilongjiang in the east to Xinjiang in the west.

Courtyard surrounded by desert in Ordos, Inner Mongolia

More than 13 million hectares of farmland in the three northern regions have been affected by sandstorms, resulting in low and unstable grain yields; More than 10 million hectares of grassland have been severely degraded due to desertification and salinization. The Loess Plateau loses over 10000 tons of soil per square kilometer every year, which is equivalent to scraping away 1 centimeter of topsoil. What to do when facing a series of problems?

In May 1978, experts from the State Forestry Administration proposed to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China the opinion on creating a 10000 mile protective forest and transforming nature. In November of that year, the State Council approved and forwarded the State Forestry Administration's Plan for Building Large Shelter Forests in the Three North Wind and Sand Hazard and Water and Soil Loss Key Areas, which marked the official launch of the "Three North" Shelter Forest System Construction Project and created a precedent for large-scale ecological construction in China.

Build the "Green Great Wall" in northern Xinjiang, China

It starts from Bin County in Heilongjiang Province in the east and extends to the Wuzibieli Pass in Xinjiang in the west, involving 13 provinces and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

From 1978 to 2050, a 73 year span, consisting of 3 stages and 8 phases of construction.

The "Three North" project, with its large scale, long duration, difficulty, and remarkable results, has attracted worldwide attention.

Schematic diagram of the overall planning of the "Three North" project

In order to turn the thousands of miles of sandstorms into the "Green Great Wall", the "Three North" project has made a series of major breakthroughs in sand prevention and control, drought resistant afforestation, aerial seeding afforestation, and mountain closure and afforestation technology. The builders invented fish scale pits, horizontal terraces, and sloping terraces to improve water utilization efficiency; Use wheat straw to make grids in the sand and use grass grids to fix the sand.

Shi Guangyin, who was once driven away by sandstorms in his childhood, relied on the "obstruction and sand control method" and the tenacious perseverance of only doing one thing in his lifetime to advance into the sand. This time, he moved forward, and the sand retreated

From 1978 to 2020, from the first phase to the fifth phase, more than 40 years have passed by. The "Three North" project has achieved a historic transformation from "sand entering and people retreating" to "green entering and sand retreating", realizing the transformation from simple afforestation to the management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and sand systems, and from protective forest systems to green ecological barriers.

The northern frontier of our motherland is undergoing tremendous changes in mountains and rivers. This tremendous change is not only reflected in the significant increase in forest coverage, afforestation area, and other figures, but is also visible and tangible: the Kubuqi Desert, known as the "Sea of Death," has become a model for global desertification prevention and control; The once severely desertified Horqin grassland is now dressed in green again; Duolun County, Inner Mongolia, once known for its strong winds and yellow sand, has become a summer resort in the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region

Protection Forest of State owned Xinhua Forest Farm in Linhe District, Bayannur City, Inner Mongolia

From 2021 to 2030, the "Three North" project will enter the sixth phase of construction. The human miracle of "green advancing and sand retreating" continues.

Draw an updated picture of beautiful China

"consolidate and develop the green ecological barrier in the northern part of the motherland and make new and greater contributions to the construction of a beautiful China." In November 2018, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the construction of the "three North" project, General Secretary Xi Jinping gave important instructions to the project.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly visited the relevant provinces in the three North regions and made important instructions on strengthening the "three North" shelterbelts and promoting the construction of ecological projects.

The Saihanba Forest Farm in Hebei Province, which has created a miracle of transforming wasteland into forest and sea, is an important area for the construction of the "Three North" project.Four years later, when General Secretary inspected Saihanba, he emphasized the need to inherit the spirit of Saihanba, deeply understand and implement the concept of ecological civilization.

△ Hebei Saihanba Forest Farm

At the foot of the Qilian Mountains, the story of three generations of Ba Bu Sha Lin Chang, represented by the "Six Old Men," continuing to control desertification continues to this day.We must promote the spirit of the "Six Old Men" who never bow down in the face of difficulties and dare to turn deserts into oases, inspire people to devote themselves to the construction of ecological civilization, continue to work hard, and work hard for a long time to build a beautiful China.

The national forest coverage and forest volume have maintained a "double growth" for many consecutive years, and the area of desertification and desertification land has achieved a "double reduction" for many consecutive years.

Green is the background of General Secretary Xi Jinping's beautiful China.

As General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed when participating in the voluntary tree planting campaign in the capital in 2023: "Let's take active action, start with planting trees, plant green waters, green mountains and Jinshan and Silver Mountains, and draw a renewed picture of a beautiful China."

Producer | Shen Yong, Zhao Xuehua, Gong Xuehui

Editor in Chief | Ma Zhe and Hou Yan

Reporter | Liu Huimin Pan Yi

Broadcast | Yang Bo

Audio Production | Li Xiaodong

Visual | Chen Kuo