Chinese President Hu Jintao Saturday called for a full
mobilization of government leaders across the country to join in
the afforestation campaign, in a bid to make the country more
beautiful and green.
Hu, together with Jiang Zemin, chairman of the Central Military
Commission, and other Communist Party and State leaders, came to
the Chaoyang Park in downtown Beijing at about 10:00 a.m. Saturday
to pitch in?the annual voluntary tree-planting activities held
throughout the Chinese capital.
Beijing's persevering efforts in tree planting over recent years
have helped greatly improve the look of the Chinese capital and its
ecological environment, said Hu, while citing afforestation as a
crucial task to promote the harmonious relations between human
beings and nature and also a great cause that will benefit
generations to come.
Related activities held across the city in the day attracted
some 2 million local residents from all walks of life.
In 1985, the Beijing Municipal People's Congress designated the
first weekend day of April each year as a voluntary day for
planting trees, aiming to increase public awareness of the
importance of afforestation for environment improvement.
Built in 1984, Chaoyang is the leading urban park in Beijing
with the largest land area, and covers more than 120 hectares in
total.
China's top leaders previously planted trees in Chaoyang in 1992
and 1996.
(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2004)