Beijing, the national capital, is working hard to build wooded areas covering 125 sq. km., to form a green belt circling the downtown area. A series of favorable polices have been issued by the city government to encourage local institutions and individuals to join in the afforestation efforts. According to the city government, Beijing will increase its green coverage to 48 percent in the next five years, with a per- capita green area of 45 sq.m. in urban areas.

The city will also build 10 forest-based tourism zones in the coming five years.

Meanwhile, Beijing's surrounding areas, including the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Hebei Province, are also making efforts to plant trees on mountains and deserts. Last year, Inner Mongolia invested over 1.6 billion yuan for that purpose.

Zhangjiakou City, in Hebei province, has launched a 10-year program to curb the spreading of deserts with a total investment of 6.89 billion yuan.

(China Daily 05/10/2001)