March 12 – China’s Arbor Day

March 12, 2014 is the 36^th Chinese National Arbor Day, or Tree Planting Day. The day commemorates the passing of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, China’s democratic revolution forerunner, who died on March 12, 1925.

On this day, the whole country is encouraged to carry out tree-planting activities and support the construction of forestry.  Country leaders, civil servants, company employees, and even school pupils spare some time to go outdoors to fulfill a citizens’ obligation of planting trees.

Over the past two decades, many people have participated in tree-planting since the country designated March 12th as Tree Planting Day in 1979. China launched its national voluntary tree-planting campaign in the early 1980s. Now, as the air condition worsens, more citizens are aware of the importance of environmental protection and become more proactive in participating in tree-planting activities.

Trees newly planted by employees from a Xi’an company