Hohhot's Chilechuan Grassland takes on stunning new look
The Chilechuan Grassland outside Hohhot boasts breathtaking vistas. It is one of 39 grasslands included in the national grassland nature park project. [Photo by Le Yan/For chinadaily.com.cn]
The Chilechuan Grassland – located to the northeast of Hohhot city, capital of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region – has taken on a fresh and stunning new look, thanks to the local government's successful efforts in restoring the ecological balance and in environmental protection, according to local media reports.
The local people have actively responded to the policy of returning farmland to grassland and restoring the grassland ecology of Chilechuan.
The Hasuhai Wetland in the Chilechuan Grassland Scenic Spot has been formed by the natural impact of the Yellow River and is known as the "Kidney of Daqingshan". The water source there has transmuted the surrounding ecology.
In order to protect this wetland, the locals don't use chemical fertilizers for farming and do not leave the manure from cattle, while undertaking strict scientific planting and breeding.
Furthermore, the city has rolled out new regulations on wetland conservation, which came into effect on Oct 1 last year.
These are expected to strengthen the protection of wetland resources and boost Hohhot's green development.
The awe-inspiring verdant expanse of the Chilechuan Grassland in Hohhot. [Photo by Le Yan/For chinadaily.com.cn]
Hohhot has also taken a close hand in managing conditions on the magnificent Daqing Mountain, to the north of the city.
Since 2015, Hohhot has been determined to protect and restore the Daqingshan Nature Reserve. That year, six mining enterprises were closed and in the following year, more than 100 mining operations were completely shut down.
After several years of restoration, the front slopes of Daqing Mountain are said to have regained their ecological functions of carbon fixation and oxygen release, water conservation, wind prevention and sand fixation, as well as air purification.
Little surprise, then, that Hohhot was named "China's Most Ecologically Competitive City" in 2021.