China's also been working more to protect its environment. The Saihanba National Forest Park won the 'Champions of the Earth' award from the UN last year. The park was once a royal hunting ground, but turned to desert after forest fires, deforestation, and wars. So how did it turn around? Hu Ying has more.

Saihanba National Forest Park is a well-known retreat in Hebei Province with cozy summer weather. The park contains about 185 thousand acres of forest. The cooling environment makes the park a perfect place for people to escape the summer's heat.

TOURIST SAIHANBA NATIONAL FOREST PARK "I feel very relaxed and comfortable here. The weather is cool while the air is fresh. It is such a beautiful park."

TOURIST SAIHANBA NATIONAL FOREST PARK "It's such a magical place. There's a desert near the park, but here is like an oasis with wetlands as well. I think it's pretty cool."

It is magic to have a forest here. Forest fires, deforestation and constant wars caused some parts of this park to become a desert at the end of the Qing dynasty. Heavy northern winds later helped to widen the desert to here from Inner Mongolia. The expansion threatened the environment in Beijing and foresters were first sent here in 1961 to stop the invasion.

CHEN ZHIQING, DEPUTY DIRECTOR SAIHANBA NATIONAL FOREST PARK "In 1961, this place was a big desert. Experts traveled here and saw this larch that stood here alone. They were so excited because it meant it was possible to plant trees in this area."

Foresters started to plant trees here after finding the lonely larch. The ecosystem has gradually changed as the forest has grown larger and larger. Now, it is already the largest human-made forest park in the world.

LI BAOJUN, HEAD OF WEATHER STATION SAIHANBA NATIONAL FOREST PARK "Comparing the recent 10 years to the first 10 years after we started to build the forest here, the amount of precipitation has increased. Extreme weather and hugely windy days have also been reduced."

The changes have helped to cut the number of sandstorms in Beijing too.

At the same time, tourism has big potential to bring considerable income to the park. But authorities are developing the sector conservatively. So far, tourism is only 30 percent of the total industry of the park.

LI SHUANG, OFFICE MANAGER DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIALIZATION, SAIHANBA NATIONAL FOREST PARK "It's difficult to rebuild a forest here, we need to be careful. It's wrong to only pursue money. Ecotourism is based on the condition of the environment. To protect the forest is always our first priority."

Saihanba National Forest Park was once a part of royal hunting area blessed with boundless grasslands and large forests. Emperor Kangxi even once reviewed his troops here. The land was ruined for a time but the beauty returns after 55 years of effort from three generations of experts. Now these trees are standing here, guarding the land just as faithfully as Kangxi's soldiers once did. Hu Ying, CGTN