A grassland in Baotou [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Baotou is prioritizing environmental protection in the building of an important ecological security barrier in North China.

Mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass and sand form a circle of life. In recent years, Baotou has been protecting and restoring such ecosystems, achieving impressive results.

The city has implemented projects related to the ecological management of Xiaobai River and ecological restoration of Nanhaizi Wetland, which has expanded the wetland area by more than 900 hectares. So far, 233 species of wild birds have been monitored there.

Beijing and Tianjin sandstorm source control, returning farmland to grassland, natural grassland improvement and artificial grassland construction are part of a series of grassland protection and construction projects that have promoted the diversity of grassland plants and the overall stability of grassland ecosystems in Baotou.

Shiguai district has also restored a total of 21.22 square kilometers of mine geological environments and was selected as one of the first national pilot projects for the comprehensive management of coal mining subsidence areas.

This year, Baotou has connected with 32 enterprises and scientific research units including China Forestry Group and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and investment promotion projects such as building 500,000 mu (33,333 hectares) of 5G pastures and the Daqing Mountain Native Botanical Garden have been officially implemented.

Environmental protection efforts have also contributed to rural vitalization. Since the beginning of this year, the city has strived for 29.4 million yuan ($4.35 million) of funds to implement 70 rural greening and beautification projects.