Sound ecological environment generates economic benefits in E China's Jiangxi

"Fully booked today — no rooms available for another week," said Peng Xuehui, owner of a B&B in Sanping village, Zhongyuan township, Jing'an county, east China's Jiangxi Province. After ending the call with his 20th inquiry of the day, he added, "This July and August, bookings are expected to bring in around 200,000 yuan (about $27,935.4) — something I never dared to imagine before."

"The forest coverage rate in Zhongyuan township is nearly 90 percent," said Zhong Wei, head of the B&B association in the township. With summer temperatures holding steady around 22 degrees Celsius, the township has built a booming summer tourism economy. Rooms are snapped up fast, while annual household income has jumped from 10,000 yuan to beyond 150,000 yuan.

On this red-soiled land of Jiangxi, a new kind of "ecological accounting" is being worked out. As one of China's first national ecological civilization pilot zones, Jiangxi has relied on its natural endowments, prioritizing ecological protection and green development, and forging a path where environmental conservation and economic growth go hand in hand.

Restoring landscapes

Once a mining site in Xiangdong district, Pingxiang city, Jiangxi, Dongguacao is now lush with greenery. From its highest point, one is greeted by a scene of white egrets resting and foraging in the fields as agricultural machines buzz back and forth.

"After more than three years of restoration work, Dongguacao has been completely transformed," said Duan Jianhui, director of the Xiangdong branch of Pingxiang's Natural Resources and Planning Bureau.

Dongguacao was once riddled with more than 300 small mines, leaving 3,800 mu (about 253 hectares) of "ecological scars" — exposed rock, piles of coal waste, and polluted water. The turnaround began in December 2021, when Xiangdong district invested 340 million yuan to launch a comprehensive restoration project.

"We converted flat and contiguous plots into farmland and restored the higher slopes to forest," Duan explained. Former wastewater pits are now clean reservoirs, ensuring irrigation for the fields.

Renewing forests

At dawn on Aug. 8, Kang Junrun, a forest ranger at Jinpen Mountain Forest Farm in Xinfeng county, Ganzhou city, Jiangxi, set out with a kettle in hand.

"In the past, villagers managed their own plots, planting trees too close together and neglecting upkeep. Underbrush grew taller than the trees, and forest quality never improved," Kang recalled.

In 2023, Jiangxi was designated as a key pilot province for sustainable forest management. 28 state-owned forest farms joined the program, including Jinpen Mountain Forest Farm.

"Managing the land ourselves, we lacked expertise and funding. We had the green hills but couldn't make a living from them," said forest farmer Qiu Ersheng.

"Since the pilot program for sustainable forest management was launched, we've introduced various cooperation models, such as those incorporating state-owned forest farms and collective forest farms, as well as state-owned forest farms and households. This overcame the challenges of low efficiency and solo management, allowing farmers to move from working alone to thriving together," said Zhu Enyong, head of Jinpen Mountain Forest Farm.

In Zhu's office, contracts are stacked high. "Here are two agreements we signed with Qiu. Last year, he partnered with us on 634.1 mu, and this year he added another 104," said Zhu.

Once entrusted, Jinpen Mountain Forest Farm clears undergrowth and nurtures quality seedlings. In just a year, tree diameters at breast height have increased by an average of 1 centimeter — a 38 percent growth rate.

The train quickly went viral after its rollout at the scenic area, which is China's first 5A zero-carbon scenic area. This summer, the scenic area received 300,000 tourist visits.

In Shimen village, Qiukou town, Wuyuan county, Shangrao city, Jiangxi, the morning stillness is broken by birdsong.

"Shh — look, behind that camphor tree, there's a blue-crowned laughingthrush!" whispered volunteer Yu Wangjin to a group of children. Just a few hundred remain worldwide, and the bird is highly selective about where it lives.

20 years ago, when the bird was first spotted, the village was still impoverished.

"Back then, we just wanted to protect them. Who imagined we'd one day earn a living from this?" Yu said. "Now, from April to July, birdwatchers flock here from across the country, and many villagers have opened B&Bs."

Last year, 650,000 visitors came to the village to see the birds and ancient trees, said Yu.

Today, Jiangxi boasts five national-level and 34 provincial-level ecotourism demonstration zones. "We don't take a one-size-fits-all approach," said an official from the provincial culture and tourism department. "Summer retreats, birdwatching, zero-carbon tourism—they all have their own models. But one principle is constant: ecology cannot be compromised."

来源：人民网
编辑：胡烨晨
审核：刘毅 甘晶莹
监制：郑颖