Beijing has newly approved four national forest parks, bringing
the total number to 12, the municipal forestry authorities said
Wednesday.
The four forest parks, namely Xiayunling, Beigong, Huangsongyu
and Badaling, boast rich plant and animal species and are of great
importance to environment protection of the 2008 Olympics host,
said the municipal forestry department.
The Badaling National Forest Park, for example, which is located
between the world-renown Great Wall sections of Badaling and
Juyongguan and covers an area of 2,930 hectares, is not only an
important part of the Great Wall scenery, but also has the largest
natural clove forest in north China, according to the
department.
With the four new "members", Beijing's national forest parks
cover more than 52,300 hectares since its first national forest
park was set up in 1992.
The forest coverage rate reached 50.5 percent in Beijing by the
end of last year, 8.6 percentage points higher than that of five
years ago, according to the department.
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(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2006)
