A view of the greening and ecological restoration project area on the southern slopes of Daqing Mountain. [Photo/Baotou news network]

The forest coverage rate and grassland vegetation coverage has increased in the areas administered by Baotou city – located in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region – and the desertified and sandy land there has been reduced in recent years, reportedly paving the way for high-quality development.

Meng Jianping, deputy manager of the greening and ecological restoration project area on the southern slopes of Daqing Mountain, said there are currently 3 million green plants in the project area.

"In recent years, the city's ecological restoration has achieved remarkable results and migratory birds and wild animals that have not been seen for many years are appearing in the area," he added.

Wang Tianli, deputy director of the Qingshan district bureau of agriculture and animal husbandry, said the quality and incremental increase in the numbers of trees on the southern slopes of Daqing Mountain were continuing and the area's carbon sink capacity continued to expand.

The city has also actively assisted leading enterprises and cooperatives to develop the forest and grass industry and commercial forests. While greening barren hills and beaches, commercial forests can also help farmers to increase their incomes.

Since 2013, a total of 100,000 mu (6,667 hectares) of these forests have been added in Baotou, with five private greening and forest product companies rated as national and leading regional-level forestry enterprises.