Restoration of forests

Arbor Day, which fell yesterday, coincided with the 83rd death anniversary of Sun Yat-sen, father of modern China, who initiated national tree planting schemes in 1915.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in 1979 designated it as a national day for the planting of trees and a reminder to the people of the importance of nature.

Thanks to the increasing awareness of the importance of trees and the unremitting efforts of people from all walks of life, the country's forest coverage rate has increased from 8.6 percent in the early 1950s to more than 18 percent today, with a total area of 175 million hectares.