Baiquan's Balancing Act

By wang kejian 

The Wulingfeng Eco-agricultural Tourist Area.

HEILONGJIANG Province at the northern end of the Chinese map is often referred to as an ocean of trees and a land of snow.

Along the province’s frigid border with Russia rise the majestic Greater and Lesser Hinggan Mountain Ranges, cloaked in primitive forests. To their southeast, in central Heilongjiang, the terrain flattens, though not completely. There are still hills, but they’re rolling, lazy things that, rather than peak, gently round out into wooded plateaus before easing down again.

The areas where this topography is in transition make for some of the most beautiful nature spots in northern China. "A land in transition" is perhaps the ideal descriptor for Baiquan County in Qiqihar City, and in more ways than one.

Located to the immediate northwest of Harbin, the provincial capital, Baiquan falls between the Lesser Hinggan Mountain and the Songnen Plain, an expanse of rich black soil deposited by the Songhua and Nenjiang rivers. Here, precipitous peaks begin to flatten out, and the forests are a deep, lush green.

Baiquan feels the full force of all four seasons. Winter means a ubiquitous blanket of cold, silvery snow; spring is an explosion of verdant life; summer temperatures can be stifling, and autumn is a cacophony of color.

I visited Baiquan at the beginning of the winter. For sure, I missed the chance to see the poplars and willows in their springtime glory, the trickling creeks of the humid summer and the vivid hues of the season of falling foliage. But wintertime in Baiquan has its own special charm; valleys were shrouded in mist and the landscape was hushed. Walking through the pine forests, the only sound to be heard was the occasional muted crash of a branch giving way to the weight of accumulated snow. It was a magical scene.

Trees were everywhere – they enveloped the roads, surrounded the villages and guarded the crops.

It’s hard to believe it wasn’t always this way in Baiquan. In the 1950s and 1960s, explosive population growth and the soaring need for farmland resulted in extensive deforestation of the area. As trees were felled and grasslands were cleared, the region fell prey to floods, droughts, soil erosion, sandstorm and other environmental problems.

Locals soon realized the problem. As early as the 1970s, Baiquan instituted an eco-agriculture agenda, and began extensive reforestation efforts. Today, most of the trees one sees along the roadside are a result of these eco-efforts.

In 1992, Baiquan became the first county in China’s plains area to have planted over one million mu (67,000 hectares) of artificial forest. Today, the county boasts 1.23 million mu (82,041 hectares) of such forest. Moreover, locals have cultivated nearly 100 million seedlings in the county's nurseries, making Baiquan a major supplier of tree seedlings in northern China.

Ensuring an adequate water supply has been crucial to reforestation efforts. Endeavors to utilize Baiquan’s extensive water resources have borne fruit. Reservoirs, irrigation ditches and artificial ponds have been constructed. To date, 138 reservoirs and 1,352 ponds have been built, the combined water storage capacity of which is 240 million cubic meters.

Wetlands are also an integral part of Baiquan’s scenery. Together, they cover about 14,000 hectares of territory along the Shuangyang, Runjin and Tongken rivers, and are a paradise for many species of wild animals. Walking quietly through the wetlands, it's possible to spot foxes, ducks, cranes, owls and even deer enjoying the lush terrain.

The key to water conservancy has been management of minor drainage basins. Reforestation has been undertaken with a view to controlling drainage. For instance, pines are planted on mountaintops to hold back rainwater; greenbelts are built around croplands; contour plowing is promoted in terrace farming; drop water structures are built at the head of valleys, check dams are erected at the bottom of gullies and willows guard the slopes to prevent mudslide and water and soil runoff. By 2012, soil erosion in the 3.48 million-mu (232,116 hectare) drainage basin area had been addressed. This "terraforming" has not only benefited the county's agriculturalists, but been a boon to the environment.

Conservation efforts have proven successful through statistical analysis of Baiquan’s environment. In the last three decades, runoff from hillside farms has been reduced by 78 percent; the content of soil organic matter has been raised by 0.51 percent; air humidity has jumped between 10 and 14 percent; average wind speeds have fallen 58 percent, and forest coverage grew from 3.7 percent to 22.7 percent. All this goes to show that the natural ecosystem and local economy have been developed in a balanced way.

For its achievements in water conservancy, Baiquan has won Heilongjiang Province’s award for farm irrigation system construction for 10 years in a row. The county is also a national leader in the field.

Baiquan has also been lauded over the years on the national and international stage for its efforts in green industry and eco-farming.

In 1993 then Vice Premier Tian Jiyun and then Heilongjiang Governor Shao Qihui wrote inscriptions for a stele erected in Baiquan to mark the county’s achievements in ecological conservation. In the following years Baiquan won a slew of national and international awards for afforestation, water and soil conservancy, ecological engineering and ecological farming.

In 2001, the county was named a green industry experimental zone by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. Experts from a dozen countries visited Baiquan to inspect the development of the local ecological economy, giving high praise to the county’s efforts.

Since 2011 the new leadership of Baiquan County has continued to emphasize the importance of ecology. According to a development strategy made by the provincial government to build a "beautiful Heilongjiang," efforts in afforestation are being stepped up in Baiquan. Last spring saw the planting of 23,000 mu (1,534 hectares) of forest and 3,700 mu (247 hectares) of seedling trees. The county leads Heilongjiang Province in terms of the quantity and quality of tree planting. Baiquan County is one of only two regions in the province to have been included on China’s latest list of Ecological Development Pioneer Regions.

Baiquan has also actively promoted itself as an eco-friendly tourism destination in recent years. Ecological parklands have been opened, within which are facilities for conferences, seminars and educational programs on ecological development. Other local tourist attractions include Wuling Peak, the wetlands of the Shuangyang River. Nearby Xiandong Mountain is on the waiting list to be approved as a national Sika deer reserve. Baiquan’s untouched surrounds make it an ideal weekend escape from the provincial capital of Harbin. The hiking and camping opportunities are endless, as are the chances to spot wildlife.

Beautiful Baiquan is truly a pioneer in ecological development. It has balanced development and ecology in a way that has proved elusive to many regions in China. Today, visitors can see the visible results of this balanced development in the county’s stunning natural surrounds. As China moves forward with its sustainable development agenda, Baiquan will undoubtedly continue to inspire into the future.