China News Service, Dazhou, November 12, Title: From "cutting trees" to "looking at trees" The "green ledger" of a forest farm in eastern Sichuan
Author Wang Liwen
The green mountains are verdant, and the clouds and mist penetrate the forest. Heading north from Xuanhan County, Dazhou City, Sichuan, the asphalt road winds through the mountains, and the altitude rises little by little until you arrive at Yueliangping Forest Health Tourism Resort. Arriving at an altitude of 1,520 meters, a giant lunar landmark called "Moon of Bashan" "rises" in the forest. The 1,314-meter canopy cloud corridor extends deep along the forest tops - it is hard to imagine that this was once an old state-owned forest farm with few people inhabited.
Recently, concentrated interview activities for the 2026 Sichuan Environmental Protection Century Tour were held in Dazhou, Nanchong and other places. In Dazhou, the interview team visited places such as Yueliangping, Maoba Town, Xuanhan County, Guangzi Village, Wumu Town, Dazhu County, and Tongbo River, Guanyin Town, Dazhu County, focusing on themes such as sustainable forest management and ecological value transformation, the construction of livable and industrial harmonious villages, and the construction of beautiful rivers and lakes.
Aerial photography of Yueliangping. Photo courtesy of Yueliangping Forest Health Tourism Resort in Xuanhan County
"In the past, this place was remote, with traffic congestion and weak infrastructure. There was only one village road." Feng Jin, secretary of the party committee and chairman of Dazhou Wuma Forestry Development Co., Ltd., said. Today, this mountain has been selected into the first batch of "Cool Sichuan" summer resort and wellness destinations. What supports it is a set of hard numbers: the resort has a planned area of 23.37 square kilometers, a forest coverage rate of 99.39%, an average of 7,903 negative oxygen ions per cubic centimeter, with a maximum of 30,000, and the average summer temperature is only 21°C. With an altitude between 1050 meters and 1620 meters, this scarce summer resort and health resort in Sichuan and Chongqing is the most precious "family property" of Yueliangping.
"In the past, we cut down more trees, but now we are developing while protecting, and protecting while developing." Feng Jin said that they divided a forest into "several accounts" to calculate, and turned the good air, good climate, and good scenery of the forest farm into visible and tangible "gold and silver mountains." Bletilla striata, gastrodia elata, and konjac have made their home under the shade of trees. Currently, 1,100 acres of bletilla striata, 500 acres of organic konjac, and 500 acres of gastrodia elata are planted under the Yueliangping forest.
Relying on the afforestation and reserve forest construction in Zhong Province, Xuanhan County explores forest carbon sink trading. The 8,620.23 acres of forest management carbon inclusive project achieved a carbon emission reduction of 10,626 tons in the first accounting period, with an estimated income of 1.06 million yuan. In the first phase, it also achieved an income of 27,500 yuan through the "judicial + carbon benefit" model.
Aerial photography of Yueliangping. Photo courtesy of Yueliangping Forest Health Tourism Resort in Xuanhan County
The 1,314-meter canopy cloud corridor, the 5,200-meter ecological cycling trail, the 1,520-meter Moon of Bashan, Yuelu Camp, and Moonlight Market...these are not man-made landscapes separated from nature, but experiential and consumable cultural tourism products based on native forests. At night, the moonlight market lights up, and camping music seasons and night stargazing have become new ways for young people to check in. This year, the sea of hydrangeas has become a hot topic on social platforms.
As the forest becomes more healthy, the burden of forest rangers becomes heavier. Wumaguicao State-owned Forest Farm was founded in 1957. Wang Chao, director of the forest farm office, has worked here for six years and is a witness of the forest's progress from tree felling to tree protection to "revitalizing" the forest. Wang Chao introduced that the forest farm implements a 24-hour duty system, and most of the patrols are carried out on foot. On average, they walk more than 20,000 steps a day. On holidays, they have to carry fire-fighting equipment for "patrol patrols." Inspections are carried out simultaneously during the peak season of pests and diseases, and about 3,000 acres are tended and restored every year.
In this ledger, numbers are the most straightforward. Since its trial operation in August 2023, Yueliangping Resort has received more than 2 million tourists and achieved a comprehensive tourism income of more than 50 million yuan. In the past, state-owned forest farms that "protected green waters and green mountains without profit" have now become well-known forest health and wellness destinations in the adjacent areas of Sichuan, Chongqing and Shaanxi.
Behind the data is the people's real sense of gain: idle land and idle farmhouses have been revitalized, and the transportation, environment and industries of surrounding towns and villages have been upgraded along with it. The former forest rangers now have ecological jobs.
"When the ecology is better, everyone is better," Wang Chao said. From felling trees to forest protection, from old forest farms to resorts, this mountain forest at an altitude of 1,600 meters has written "lucid waters and lush mountains are mountains of gold and silver" into a visible scenery and tangible income. It has also written a vivid footnote for more young people to devote themselves to rural revitalization.
