Retaining the beauty of falling leaves, many cities across the country have implemented "leaf-falling slow sweeping"

Source: Workers Daily

Many citizens call the hotline to hope not to sweep the fallen leaves; many cities across the country have implemented "leaf-falling slow sweeping"

Keep the beauty of the fallen leaves and pick them up every two hours in a cycle

Reporter of this newspaper Zhang Yan Correspondent Li Ran

Workers Daily (28 November 2021, 02 edition)

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With the improvement of people's aesthetic requirements, more and more cities in China have begun to implement "leaf-falling slow sweeping" to retain autumn rhyme. "Slow sweeping of fallen leaves" does not mean that the leaves are not really swept, but puts forward higher requirements for sanitation and cleaning. Shandong Qingdao "leaf falling slow sweep" to implement "one road, one policy" fine management, the need for every two hours to carry out a cycle of picking.

Pieces of golden leaves drifted with the wind, smoothly merging with the scattered leaves on the road, and the children ran back and forth, cheerfully picking up the leaves and throwing them into the sky over and over again... This scene appeared on an ordinary afternoon in the Badaguan Scenic Area in Qingdao City, Shandong Province.

Autumn leaves fell, which was once a "headache" problem that plagued urban sanitation. However, with the improvement of people's aesthetic requirements, in recent years, more and more cities in China have begun to implement the policy of "slow sweeping of falling leaves", hoping to "turn waste into treasure" and retain autumn rhyme to the greatest extent.

"Leaf drop slow sweep" is convenient for viewing and taking photos

When it comes to autumn viewing, the most popular place in Qingdao is the Badaguan Scenic Area. Citizens and tourists stop at the "Golden Avenue" to enjoy the beautiful scenery, and photography enthusiasts and painting enthusiasts enjoy the quiet beauty of autumn leaves and create beautiful works of art in the stop-and-go period.

"Although the pavement in many places is clean, it always feels a little deserted. Since the beginning of the past few years, the fallen leaves here have been left, and the yellow leaves on the trees have been reflected in each other, and they look at the past from a distance, as beautiful as oil paintings! Aunt Wang, who lives in the north district of Qingdao City, praised the "beautiful scenery left behind.".

Mr. Zhang, a foreign tourist, is a photography enthusiast and has come to Qingdao three times to collect wind. He said: "In the past, many people would shake branches to make the leaves fall in order to take pictures to look good, and 'leaf slow sweeping' not only created conditions for everyone to watch and take pictures, but also reduced the phenomenon of uncivilization." ”

The reporter saw in the Badaguan scenic spot that many young parents took their children to play and take pictures. Ms. Feng, a citizen, picked up fallen leaves of different shapes with her 5-year-old daughter and prepared to take them home to make specimens, "so that children can get close to nature, touch and perceive through their eyes and hands, which is more vivid than any book knowledge." ”

Citizens call the hotline in hopes of keeping the fallen leaves

Speaking of the reason for the "slow sweeping of fallen leaves", Guo Jianhui, director of the Western Operation Center of Qingdao South District Urban Development Co., Ltd., told reporters that as early as 2012, some citizens called the hotline many times, hoping that the autumn leaves would no longer be eager to clean, slow down the rhythm, and let the fallen leaves stay longer. After receiving the suggestions, the Shinan District City Administration Bureau attached great importance to it, collected many relevant reports on how foreign cities retain autumn intentions from the Internet, learned and innovated on the basis of extensive investigation, and decided to leave fallen leaves.

In the year of implementation, Qingdao took the Badaguan Scenic Area as a pilot and created a "leaf-falling slow sweep" area. In 2020, after Qingdao fully implemented the "leaf-falling slow sweeping" policy, the slow sweeping area was expanded and a number of roads were added.

"The trees on these sections are mainly ginkgo biloba, ash, pentagram, quercus and French plane trees, mostly yellow and brown leaves, the two colors are superimposed, very autumn rhyme." Guo Jianhui said.

The reporter learned that due to the changeable temperature and other factors, the estimated viewing time of the deciduous landscape road will also be adjusted, so there is no hard and fast rule on the time of "slow sweeping of leaves". In previous years, the weather usually began in mid-October, but this year the weather is warmer, and the "slow sweep" mode is only turned on at the end of October, which lasts for about a month.

Sanitation workers pick up in a circular cycle every two hours

"Slow sweeping of fallen leaves" does not mean that the fallen leaves are really not swept, but higher requirements are put forward for sanitation and cleaning.

Nie Guofeng, 36, is a sanitation worker in the Badaguan area of Qingdao South District Sanitation Company, because the area he is responsible for is a famous scenic spot, and Nie Guofeng has a more important responsibility.

At 6:30 a.m. on the street, in the cool of late autumn, Nie Guofeng began the day's road cleaning work. Wearing yellow-brown sanitation overalls, holding a black garbage bag in his left hand and a rake in his right hand, Nie Guofeng skillfully "flipped through" the fallen leaves on the road and clipped the white hand paper "hidden" in the fallen leaves into the garbage bag. "Each of us is generally responsible for 2 to 3 sections, because of the special requirements of 'leaf slow sweeping', each section needs to be picked up every two hours." Nie Guofeng said.

In order to maintain the natural state of falling leaves, Qingdao's "slow sweeping of leaves" implements "one road and one policy" fine management according to factors such as different time periods, different tree species and climate, and other wastes such as cigarette butts and paper towels other than fallen leaves are cleaned up and picked up in time.

"Under normal circumstances, badaguan scenic spots implement two mechanized cleaning and two manual sweeps every day. In the deciduous season, in order not to affect the landscape, all mechanized operations are completed manually, and sanitation workers need to carry out manual cleaning every two hours, pick up waste, garbage, and regularly clean up broken leaves to preserve the autumn and winter leaf landscape. Guo Jianhui said.

"This year there is less rain, and most of the fallen leaves have no moisture, which is particularly easy to break." Nie Guofeng told reporters that every Monday they will clean the fallen leaves in a centralized manner and clean up some broken leaves that affect the landscape in time. If on a rainy day, the fallen leaves wet by the rain "obediently" stick to the ground, and the fallen leaves need to be turned over manually to prevent the fallen leaves from becoming moldy after being soaked by the rain. In his view, although the "slow sweeping of leaves" increases the workload, it can make the city more beautiful, leave a good autumn memory for citizens and tourists, and their work has become more meaningful.