Datong county, in Northern China's Shanxi province, has been devoted to planting forests, or "afforestation", for over 30 years. By the end of this May, 101.75 mu (67,830 square meters) of trees has been planted, and forests will cover nearly a third of the county's area.

The manmade "green belt" extends more than a hundred kilometers and has become a natural barrier to slow down sand storms and improve the overall environment. Datong was designated as an Ecological Forestry Vanguard County in Shanxi and a National Greening Pilot.

Facing soil and water loss as well as desertification, Datong's afforestation efforts began in 1983. Since then, successive county committees have all taken the concept of "greening" seriously. The county has also promoted high-tech forestry by setting up the province's first Pinus pilot project on Luoying Mountain. Today, 500,000 mu (300 million square meters) of pine trees have sprouted in the county.

Zhao Deqing, head of Datong's forestry bureau, shared his experiences with afforestation. He and his colleagues, together with a group of local residents, took their most basic necessities to the barren mountains and lived there for a period of time growing trees.

Green work in Datong has reached a new level since 2011, when the county upgraded its ecological forestry construction from simply planting trees in barren mountains to green landscape building in the surrounding neighborhoods. This developed both the forest-fruits and ecological-tourism industries. Datong emphasizes both ecological and economical forests, increasing plant diversity, and creating green landscapes, all while taking advantage of its natural resources. Ecological construction has not only improved the county's environment, but also helped it to assemble its resources and give birth to new industries.

According to Zhao, the annual investment in forestry is 50 million yuan ($8 million). Annually, the county finishes a 10,000-mu forestry-construction project and plants a 40,000-mu-area of trees. In 2012 and 2013, it constructed 59 green villages.

Datong has built a series of green landscape projects in order to attract tourists. These include the "green passage" connecting the volcano group and the county and the "green passage" to Datong Yungang Airport.

Besides ecological forestry development, the county has also seen an increase in the fruit-growing industry. The county has turned Jule Village into an apricot forest, thus boosting its economy greatly. The apricot forest now covers 33,000 mu (22 million square meters) and makes an annual per capita income of 3,000 yuan for local fruit growers. The economical forest has become a new way to boost local income.