China's development from standing up, to getting rich, and then to becoming strong, has gone through countless years, today let us take the 24-year growth of a coconut tree on a small island as the main line, let's take a look at China's development.
Located in the south of China, the Xisha Islands in Sansha City, Hainan Province, have a total land area of about 10 square kilometers, which was once the largest archipelago in the South China Sea. Among them, there is a small island at the southernmost tip of the Paracel Islands, called Zhongjian Island.
Zhongjian Island is located in the southwest of the Xisha Islands in Sansha City, Hainan Province, because the small island is rich in horseshoe snails, so the island is also called "Snail Island" by local fishermen. Geographically, the island is the only way from Hainan Island to the Nansha Islands, so it has the title of "Halfway Stand". Because the average annual temperature of the island is as high as 31 degrees Celsius, there are more than four sea breezes in all four seasons, and the climate is harsh, so it is a famous desert island, fire island, wind island, sand island, and the environment is very harsh.
In fact, Zhongjian Island was not the original name of the island at the beginning, but the origin of the island's name was because people wanted to commemorate the warship Zhongjian sent to the Paracel Islands in 1946.
Because of its special geographical location, Gunkanjima is located in a low-latitude area, so the temperature on the island is high all year round. And because Zhongjian Island is an island, surrounded by the sea on all sides, the island is relatively humid, the island is disturbed by seawater, the soil erosion is serious, and the total amount of fresh water in the soil is very small, the salt content in the water on the island is extremely high, and the water resources that can be directly quoted by people are limited.
330 kilometers west of Zhongjian Island is Vietnam's Da Nang, which has always been eyeing China's Paracel Islands, so the geographical location of Zhongjian Island is very important.
In 1975, the South China Sea Fleet was sent to Zhongjian Island to guard the island. The officers and men boarded Zhongjian Island, faced with no grass on the island, and began the arduous garrison work.
Zhongjian Island is a sandy island with flat terrain and relatively high surrounding areas, and there is almost no soil on the island, only the remains of corals and shells. After the corals and shells are weathered, they will form snow-white beaches, and the beach will cause the garrison officers and soldiers to suffer from "snow blindness" when the sun refracts. In order to improve the living environment of the middle island, the warriors on the island plan to transform the middle island, of which the first step of the transformation is to plant trees.
The typhoon on Zhongjian Island was raging, and it was very difficult for animals and plants to survive, and the number of plants surviving on the island was almost zero, so the warriors chose to use the method of transporting saplings from elsewhere to transform the environment. At the beginning, the officers and soldiers transported 890 saplings from Hainan Island to Zhongjian Island, and prepared to use this as a basis to start the transformation of Zhongjian Island.
In order to improve the survival rate of saplings, the officers and soldiers exhausted their brains. Officers and soldiers would collect the soil left over from the construction of the vegetable garden and plant saplings. In his spare time, he collects guano to fertilize the saplings and provide nutrients. Fresh water resources on the island are scarce, so the officers and soldiers "save money" in order to leave enough fresh water to water the saplings. In the face of the super typhoon, the officers and soldiers fixed the saplings with tripods. Even the warriors who returned home to visit their relatives brought back fertilizer or soil from their hometowns, so much so that an unwritten rule was formed on the island that organ personnel were required to bring a sapling before they could go to the island.
Despite this, the survival rate of saplings is still unsatisfactory. After a typhoon, only one of the more than 900 saplings carefully cared for by the officers and soldiers survived. However, in the face of such a dilemma, the officers and soldiers still did not give up, they treated this incident with an optimistic attitude, and also gave the surviving saplings a meaningful name - Gobi Spring. The captain of the garrison at that time said that the word Gobi was taken because of the geographical location and environmental climate of the island in the symbol; the spring breeze symbolized the revolutionary spirit of the soldiers on the island.
In March 1998, Navy reporter Guo Yike was given the task of going to Zhongjian Island to cover the interview. Before going to the island, Guo Yike specially bought a coconut sapling from Sanya, loaded it with more than a dozen pounds of soil, and planned to plant it on Zhongjian Island.
Under the guidance of the officers and soldiers, Guo Yike chose to plant saplings on the west side of the barracks, which looked relatively shady. Guo Yike spent more than ten days on the island taking good care of the coconut trees, watering, fertilizing, and doing everything himself. Finally, when Guo Yike left the island, the coconut tree also showed a gratifying growth.
In 1982, nearly 300 coconut trees and masson pines were planted in batches of saplings on Zhongjian Island, and The plan to "turn green" on Zhongjian Island was moving forward step by step.
In 2002, the first coconut was harvested on Zhongjian Island, which was regarded by the island's officers and soldiers as a symbol of success. To this day, this coconut is still stored in the honor room of Zhongjian Island.
According to the exact data statistics, by the end of 2019, the green area of the middle island has reached about 44%. The once-troublesome "Gobi of the South China Sea" has become a gratifying "oasis on the sea".
With the development of China's economy, social progress, and the enhancement of military strength, earth-shaking changes have also taken place on Zhongjian Island.
Guo Yike, who planted coconut trees 24 years ago, once again set foot on Zhongjian Island, and Guo Yike looked at the island with a new look and was very emotional. He came to the place where the coconut tree was first planted, and he could not help but rejoice when he saw that the once small coconut sapling had now grown into a thick coconut tree, and the fruit on the tree was full of fruit.
The changes in Zhongjian Island go far beyond the increase in the greening rate. At present, the traffic conditions on Zhongjian Island have been greatly improved, fresh water equipment has been installed on the island, and officers and men no longer have to live a life of "saving money and using frugality" to pump water to irrigate saplings. Everything is developing in a good way, just like the coconut tree that was growing happily, thriving.
A small coconut tree has witnessed the transformation of Zhongjian Island from barren to "rich". The little changes in Zhongjian Island, the growth step by step, symbolize China's development and strength, and the environment on Zhongjian Island has changed in all kinds, and the only constant is the determination and perseverance of the officers and men on the island to garrison the island, and the patriotic heart of the officers and men on the island.