Tourists ride horses near the Luan River in the park. (Zou Hong/China Daily)
"There is almost no flat land left, so over the past five years we've been trying to plant trees on rocky mountain slopes, where the topsoil is less than 15 centimeters deep," said Fan Dongdong, 33, who arrived in Saihanba in 2007, immediately after graduating from Hebei Agricultural University, 500 km away.
"We chose Scots pine, a species accustomed to cold, arid climates. Once established, its ever-extending roots reach deep between the rocks. But before that, we have to give the saplings a home by digging holes about 40 cm in depth and 70 cm by 70 cm in cross section."
The process isn't as easy as it sounds. The rocks are so large that earthmovers are used to move them. When the machines hit the rocks, sparks and plumes of white smoke can be seen from the foot of the mountain.
"The space left is filled with black soil we take from another part of the forest. The soil is so precious — in many other parts of Saihanba you get white sand under a thin layer of soil — that we put it in our cupped hands and pour it carefully into the hole, not wanting to waste even a pinch," Fan said. "The mountain slope is too steep for the kind of tree-planting machines used here in 1964. Everything must be done by hand."
According to Fan, hand-planted trees account for 90 percent of the forest's total. He married last year, and his wife now lives in the forest with him. Despite the hardship, they are excited.
"Why have I decided to stay?" he said. "It's because I want to be part of something epic."