[Photo via VCG]

The 2023 Friendship Forest Tree Planting Activity was jointly organized by the International Cooperation Department of the National Radio and Television Administration of China (NRTA) and the Information Office of Beijing Municipality on April 13. Ambassadors and diplomats from eight countries, including Cambodia, Cameroon, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Tanzania, and Vietnam, as well as over 20 foreign media outlets in Beijing, staff members of the International Cooperation Department of NRTA and member units of the Information Office of Beijing Municipality, were present at the event.

Yan Chengsheng, Director of NRTA's International Cooperation Department, stated that the Friendship Forest Tree Planting Activity has been running for 14 consecutive years since 2004, with over 3,000 saplings planted. The activity is aimed at encouraging cultural exchanges between China and other countries, and thereby helps Sino-foreign friendship take root and generate fruitful achievements.

Xu Hejian, Deputy Director-General of the Publicity Department of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Director of the Information Office of Beijing Municipality, announced that over 100 million residents in Beijing have participated in voluntary tree-planting activities, resulting in over 220 million new trees. These efforts have led to a 44.8 percent forest coverage rate and a 49.3 percent urban green coverage rate throughout the city, with a total of 1,050 parks. Together, these accomplishments have greatly contributed to the green background of Beijing as a world-class livable capital.

At the event on April 13, Chinese and foreign friends came together at Shunyi Garden (Phase I) within Wenyu River Park in Beijing to plant a total of 100 peach and apricot trees along the banks of the Wenyu River, diversifying the flora of the park and bringing new colors and greenery to it. The garden possesses an expansive green space spanning over 697,000 square meters, creating a well-designed ecological environment home to a wide range of species, with seven distinct landscapes formed.

The event helps facilitate the dissemination of the concept ("Let Forests Enter Cities, Let Cities Embrace Forests") of establishing a National Forest City, and encourages cultural exchange between China and other countries, providing diplomats and foreign journalists in Beijing with an opportunity to witness by themselves the city's tangible progress towards green development and environmental conservation.

(Source: Official WeChat account of the Information Office of Beijing Municipality)