The Changbai Mountain extensions in Southeast Jilin province are covered with immense forests, behind which hides a man's perseverance in planting trees voluntarily for more than 30 years.

Zhao Xihai, who once worked as a lumberman at the Jilin Province Wangou Forestry Bureau, started to plant trees when he was 48 years old. Zhao spent even more time in the mountains after his retirement and in the past 30 years, some of the 46,000 trees he has planted since 1986 have grown into the sky.

Say goodbye to axes and repay the debt

Zhao recalled that when he was still a lumberman, his daily work is to cut down trees in the mountains. A tree can be cut down in several minutes but it could have taken a hundred years to grow.

Later, chainsaws became their primary cutting tools, which takes even less time to cut down a tree.

His cutting days eventually ended in 1986 when forestry resources were close to exhaustion. One day after work, Zhao walked into the mountains and suddenly cried as he saw the bare mountains.

He said "I used to cut down trees on this mountain and it is me who made the area into a barren mountain. I am a sinner!"

Zhao plants trees in the forestry farm. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]