Film about afforestation in Saihanba debuts in China

Back to Youth, a film based on a true story of three generations of people working hard for afforestation in Saihanba, northern China, earned nearly 1.60 million yuan ($227,000) on its first day of screening in China Tuesday.

In the film, a group of people devoted their youth to afforestation and protection of the forests in Saihanba, a vast man-made forest covering about 93,000 hectares in Hebei province, 400 km north of Beijing, with an idea of "turning the desert into an oasis."

The production team said the film was shot in deserts and prairies in northern China, trying to reconstruct the real scenes from history.

"We hope the film can help pass down the Saihanba spirit from generation to generation," said Tian Yunzhang, screenwriter of the film.

Saihanba has become an important ecological shield for Beijing and Tianjin, critically important to water and air quality for the Beijing-Tianjin area.

In 2017, the Saihanba afforestation community won the UN Champions of the Earth Award for its outstanding contribution to the restoration of degraded landscapes.