Zhao Peixian has devoted over four decades to afforestation and ecological restoration in the dry-hot valley of the Jinsha River, the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
Zhao Peixian, 62, a senior forestry engineer and former head of the ecological restoration section at Yuanmou county's forestry and grassland bureau in southwest China's Yunnan Province, has devoted over four decades to afforestation and ecological restoration in the dry-hot valley of the Jinsha River, the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
Since starting work in 1984, he has helped pioneer a unique technique for afforestation and selected tree varieties suited to the region, gradually restoring vegetation to hills once stripped bare.
Average annual rainfall in the county is just 637 millimeters, while evaporation is 2.6 times greater. According to an official document, the county's forest coverage rate fell to a historic low of 5.2 percent in 1985.
Zhao recalled that when he began working, the hillsides were nearly bare, and strong spring winds regularly stirred up dust storms. Thin, sandy topsoil made the land more vulnerable to erosion during the rainy season. Starting in 1999, Yuanmou launched a large-scale afforestation campaign.
