Long March legacy takes root in greener landscapes of revolutionary heartlands

BEIJING, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Perched on a hillside in Changting County of southern China, visitors soak in lush scenery stretching beside the glistening Tingjiang River. But things weren't always so picturesque. Changting, an old revolutionary base area in Fujian Province, was among the counties hardest hit by soil erosion in China's red-soil region, which threatened local people's livelihoods and left the landscape degraded. Efforts to improve the local environment began nearly a century ago. In November 1931, the Communist Party of China (CPC) established the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic in Ruijin, Jiangxi Province, where the CPC put its revolutionary ideals into governance experimentation. The following year, it launched a tree-planting campaign to protect farmland from floods and droughts, reclaim barren hills and benefit local people. During this campaign, CPC-led Red Army soldiers in Changting, which neighbors Ruijin, taught residents how to plant trees. In turn, residents brought food and seedlings to the soldiers and joined the planting campaign voluntarily. "Even amid the turmoil of war, the Party still called for tree planting with great vigor," said Chen Liping, a researcher of CPC history and local chronicles in the county. "It reflects the Party's commitment to putting people's interests first and laying the foundations for future development." As the war intensified, however, the tree-planting campaign had to be halted. The Red Army then embarked on the Long March, an epic military trek from 1934 to 1936 that broke through the encirclement of Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) forces. With some marching as far as 12,500 kilometers, the arduous journey helped lay the foundation for the eventual victory of the Chinese revolution. As one of the starting points of the Long March, Changting has carried forward the Red Army's legacy in its decades-long efforts to combat soil erosion. Tree planting, as the Red Army had practiced earlier, remained an effective method to tackle the problem. However, in severely eroded areas, ground temperatures can soar above 70 degrees Celsius, making it difficult for trees to survive. Through experimentation, the county developed a phased approach suited to its natural conditions: first planting grass, then shrubs, and next trees, bringing the barren hills back to life step by step. "Grass helps lower ground temperatures and create favorable conditions for other vegetation, allowing a mix of tree species to take root," said Shangguan Yuanbin, deputy head of the county's soil and water conservation station. Over the years, local people adapted to changing conditions and met emerging problems with determination, patience and ingenuity. Years of effort have paid off. To date, Changting has reduced the area affected by soil erosion by about 1.17 million mu (about 78,000 hectares), while its soil erosion rate fell from 31.47 percent to 6.31 percent, according to local authorities. "Had we given up at any point over these decades, we would not have achieved such results today," said Shangguan. "We've applied the fearless Long March spirit to soil and water conservation." Changting's transformation epitomizes a broader greening trend in China, which marks a national tree-planting day annually. Official data showed that between 2021 and 2025, China accounted for roughly one-quarter of the world's increase in green vegetation, while its forest and grass coverage rate exceeded 56 percent in 2025. China's greening endeavor has gained international recognition. In 2021, Changting's comprehensive soil erosion control and ecological restoration practices were selected as a model case at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15). But restoring the land is not the end of the story. The next challenge is to turn environmental recovery into lasting economic opportunities for local communities. One of these places is Xikuangshan, an old mining area in central China's Hunan Province. During the Long March, about 1,500 well-disciplined Red Army soldiers were stationed there for a week. Through their words and deeds, they gained the trust of locals, who went from hiding from the Red Army to following it. Dubbed the "World's Capital of Antimony," Xikuangshan has witnessed decades of intensive underground mining dating back to 1897, which led to vegetation loss, air and water pollution, and ground subsidence. Some even joked that "a white bird flying across Xikuangshan could turn black." In 2004, local people mounted an all-out campaign for ecological restoration. Inspired by the perseverance shown by the Red Army, a research team conducted countless experiments and finally achieved a breakthrough in the treatment of harmful residue generated during antimony refining, a challenge that has long confronted the industry worldwide. The once-scarred mining landscape gradually regained its vitality. The improved environment, together with its revolutionary history and mining culture, helped Xikuangshan to develop into a well-known tourist destination with around 300 million yuan (about 44.6 million U.S. dollars) in tourism revenue annually. Yang Lijun is among those who have benefited. After more than a decade, he decided to return home in 2021 upon seeing his hometown's blue skies and clear waters. He rented an abandoned rural house and opened a tourist restaurant featuring local specialties, which now generates an annual income of more than 100,000 yuan. "In the past, many residents, myself included, left home because of worsening environmental conditions," he recalled. "Now, with the environment improving, more tourists are coming, bringing new opportunities for a better life." For places like Changting and Xikuangshan, ecological restoration is therefore not simply about bringing back greenery, but also about higher-quality lives and new development paths for former revolutionary base areas. Earlier this year, China issued guidelines on accelerating the development of such areas, with measures to support systematic environmental protection and encourage eco-tourism. For Yue Hui, director of the soil and water conservation center in Changting, the changes are encouraging, but the work is far from over. "Combating soil erosion requires sustained effort. We will continue our march toward a greener future," Yue said.