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Copyright © 2024 CGTN. 京ICP备20000184号
Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466
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Copyright © 2024 CGTN. 京ICP备20000184号
Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466
June 25 is China's National Land Day. It is a day to raise awareness of land protection and to promote national policy regarding land preservation.
On June 25, 1986, the 16th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress passed and promulgated China's first major law about adjusting land relations.
To commemorate this day, the State Council has designated June 25 as National Land Day, the first national day dedicated to a specific theme.
China is the first country in the world to set up a special day to preserve the land. In contrast to its impressively vast land area, which ranks third globally, its per capita land is only a third of the world's average, ranking 11th, according to official government data.
As China has complex climates and diverse landforms, arable land only accounts for around 10 percent of its land area, ranking second in the world. China ranks 67th when it comes to per capita arable land. "Using the land economically and intensively" and "Sticking to the red line (minimum area) of cultivated land" have been the themes adopted for five years since the 30th land day.
Challenges, including degradation, desertification, soil erosion, and pollution, add further difficulties to using the land, as resource development has to be balanced with ecological considerations. Similarly to setting a red line for the minimum area of arable land, China also plans a minimum area for ecological protection.
This year marks the 34th National Land Day. With decades of efforts dedicated to the preservation of land resources, China has made remarkable achievements in maintaining arable land, restoring wasteland and optimizing the land utilization.
The pictures below offer concrete examples of these achievements.
Farmers transplant rice seedlings in a black soil field in Beidahu town, Yongji County in China's Jilin Province, May 28, 2024. Black soil is a precious soil resource known as "giant panda." out of the soil. It is found in the Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces in northeast China, whose grain output accounts for more than 20 percent of the country's total output. However, the black land is facing degradation due to intensive use over a long period. An area of black land in the northeast has been reduced by about 30 percent. To stop this deterioration, local governments vigorously promote conservation tillage, improving soil fertility with the help of technologies and reconstructing the ecological environment via afforestation and grassland restoration. Through these efforts, the tendency of black soil to become thinner, harder, and weaker has begun to slow down. /CFP
A view of the Guang'an Honey Pear Modern Agricultural Base in Huaying, Sichuan Province, China, May 20, 2024. Huaying has adopted rocky desertification land, abandoned mines, barren hills and slopes to develop an agricultural park of more than 13 square kilometers. Based on the growing of honey pear, it goes beyond developing logistics, warehousing, and processing to even building a theme park and resort village that leads to higher profits. This is a perfect example of how wasteland is efficiently utilized to boost local development. /CFP
A view of terraced fields in Cenfeng Village, Cuili Yao Zhuang Township in Qiandongnan Prefecture, Guizhou Province, China, May 19, 2024. Guizhou is the only province in China that has no plains. Mountainous and hills occupy 92.5 percent of its land area. The per capita cultivated land area is only 900 square meters, which is lower than the national average. A creative way of building terraced fields was adopted to deal with the situation. Guizhou's lack of land has improved mainly due to the use of low hills and gentle slopes. /CFP
An aerial view shows a road through the forests in Yuan'an County, an advanced afforestation county in Hualin Town, Yichang City, Hubei Province, China, April 16, 2024. Hubei Province has made considerable efforts to control water and soil loss through afforestation, grassland planting and the comprehensive management of small watersheds. In Yuan'an, the soil and water conservation rate has increased from 85.72 percent in 2016 to 87.6 percent in 2023. /CFP