YICHUN, June 6, 2021 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Yingshan, 65, has worked with trees for over 45 years.
Following the steps of his father, Zhang became a forestry worker at the Wumahe forestry bureau in northeast China in 1975. Nine years later, he opened the bureau's first family-run forest farm, planting 30 hectares of trees each year.
From 1981 to 2011, Zhang, with the help of his wife Yan Yuping, planted around a million trees on the ridge of the Lesser Hinggan Mountains. After retiring at the age of 55, he keeps inspecting trees and cutting down weeds.
"When I go into those forests and see how fast they grow, I'm really pleased," Zhang said. "Those trees are like my own children."
The couple spends most of the time in a cottage deep inside the mountains, as it is convenient to plant and tend trees. "I will devote all of my efforts to the trees," Zhang said.
Zhang Yingshan checks trees he planted in a forest farm administered by Wumahe forestry bureau in Yichun City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, June 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)
Zhang Yingshan and his wife Yan Yuping walk in a forest farm administered by Wumahe forestry bureau in Yichun City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, June 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)
Zhang Yingshan and his wife Yan Yuping check a tree they planted more than 30 years ago in a forest farm administered by Wumahe forestry bureau in Yichun City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, June 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)
Zhang Yingshan carries tree seedlings in a forest farm administered by Wumahe forestry bureau in Yichun City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2018. (Xinhua/Yang Siqi)
Zhang Yingshan and his wife Yan Yuping check trees in a forest farm administered by Wumahe forestry bureau in Yichun City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, June 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)
Zhang Yingshan plants a tree seedling in a forest farm administered by Wumahe forestry bureau in Yichun City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2018. (Xinhua/Yang Siqi)
Zhang Yingshan shows the certificate of National Model Worker he was awarded at home in a forest farm administered by Wumahe forestry bureau in Yichun City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, June 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)
Aerial photo taken on June 3, 2021 shows a view of a forest farm administered by Wumahe forestry bureau in Yichun City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)
Produced by Xinhua Global Service■
