In 2011, the family of Chen Jiafen along with their neighbors in the Changshun County moved to protect a 50-meter 4,700-year-old gingko tree whose roots were undermining nearby buildings.
Nonetheless, Chen, 60 years old, says she often returns to the area to pay a visit.
"The great tree answers our prayers and protects our village," Chen shared. "We had to return the favor."
According to Yang Ping, Changshun County's forest bureau deputy chief, the area's officials have spent 2 million yuan for the relocation of 18 Miao families.
Yang said that they also receive queries from the residents who are asking how to care for the tree.
However, the situation is not only confined in the people of Changshun. Zhang Jianlong, chief of China's State Forestry Administration, said that a total of 70 billion yuan were allocated by 78 cities for forestry last year.
Zhang also noted that there is a rising campaign gearing toward "bringing forests into cities and surround cities with forests." The advocacy combines successful experience from abroad with Chinese reality.
Moreover, he shared that the administration is targeting to veer away from the enclosed monitoring of green spaces. Instead, they are aiming to "bring forests into communities and people's lives, to make forests more accessible and enjoyable to people in both urban and rural areas."
During a recent urban forestry conservation meeting in East China's Anhui Province, a total of 21 cities were declared "State Forest City." This increases the number of such areas to 96.