BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Located in Hohhot in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Chilechuan Grassland has shown an extraordinary view as local ecological restoration efforts paid off.
Photo shows the splendid scenery of Chilechuan Grassland in Hohhot in north China's Inner Mongolia.
Only a decade ago, the grassland, which is now covered by over 60 kinds of grasses, was haunted by deforestation and overexploitation.
To protect the ecological environment, local governments rolled out a series of policies and measures and made all-out efforts to restore the environment, including closing more than 100 mining companies in 2016 and inviting experts to carry out ecological restoration.
"Using new technologies to pilot the best seed resources in the grassland, Mengcao Grassland Ecology Research Institute has turned Chilechuan into a grassland plant gene bank", said Wang Zhaoming, President of the Institute.
Local residents also applied a scientific approach in agriculture and animal husbandry with an aim to protect the wetland and grassland in the area.
Thanks to the restoration, the grassland has become suitable habitat for birds and leisure area for residents. As a result, Hohhot has been awarded several prizes in the field of ecological development.
The city also plans to construct 500 small parks this year to bring ecological benefits to local residents, as part of its efforts to integrate green development into its social development philosophy.
Apart from the ecological benefits, the restoration also brought new ecological industry to Hohhot.
The city has built a seed industry center near the grassland, which covers an area of 8,000 square kilometer and collects 48,000 seed resources, 120,000 specimens and 1.4 million soil samples.
"Seeds can make a lawn, but not grassland", said Wang Zhaoming, adding that digital management platform and scentific planting mode have been introduced by the institute to offer technical support for grassland protection in the area.
(Edited by Li Shimeng with Xinhua Silk Road, lishimeng@xinhua.org)
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