Beijing adds more forests, greenbelts

BEIJING - Beijing added a further 17,200 hectares of forests and greenbelts in 2019 as part of the latest round of its afforestation campaign, according to the city gardening and greening bureau.

Beijing planted about 11.6 million trees in 2019 and plans to add another 11,333 hectares of forests and greenbelts in 2020. The campaign aims at adding 66,700 hectares of forests, greenbelts and wetlands by 2022.

A previous greening campaign from 2012 to 2015, which saw more than 54 million trees planted, brought the city's forest coverage rate to 41 percent from 37.6 percent.

Yang Hao, deputy director of the environmental protection and restoration department of the bureau, said this year's greening work mainly focused on important venues such as the Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition and the city's new Daxing International Airport.

"Next year, we will put more efforts into afforestation projects in key areas such as the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway, the city's sub-center and the Yongding River to further expand Beijing's green space," said Yang.