How-to China: Tree-planters turn barren mountains green

Q: How did you find ways to ensure a better survival rate?

Li: We realized we could not succeed without the guidance of science and technology, so I began to subscribe to various forestry magazines. Our persistence attracted technical support and funds from the local government and forestry department to help us install electricity and a mechanically powered well.

I bought high-quality seedlings from other places and changed the soil in the nursery so the seedlings could adapt. After the technical improvements, the survival rate of the pine trees reached more than 95 percent.

We had little time for leisure. Planting trees in spring is the hardest. Every morning we have to transport the saplings 1 kilometer up the mountain, and we have to work more than 10 hours every day.