Arbor Day is a festival that publicizes the protection of trees in accordance with the provisions of the law and organizes and mobilizes the masses to actively participate in afforestation activities. According to the length of time, it can be divided into tree planting day, tree planting week and tree planting month, which is called International Arbor Day. Advocate that through such activities, people will be inspired to love forestry and realize the importance of environmental protection.
China's Arbor Day was initiated by Ling Daoyang and foresters such as Han An and Pei Yili in 1915, and initially set the time for the annual Qingming Festival. In 1928, the Nationalist government changed Arbor Day to March 12 to commemorate the third anniversary of Sun Yat-sen's death. In 1979, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, at the suggestion of Deng Xiaoping, the Sixth Session of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress decided to designate March 12 of each year as Arbor Day.
From July 1, 2020, the newly revised Forest Law of the People's Republic of China will be implemented, which specifies that March 12 of each year is Arbor Day.
Ancient China had a tradition of planting willow trees during the Qingming Festival, and the earliest planting of trees on the side of the road in Chinese history was first initiated from Shaanxi by a man named Wei Xiaokuan more than 1400 years ago.
Wei Xiaokuan (508–580 CE) was a famous general of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties, a native of Jingzhao Duling (present-day southeastern Xi'an). According to the Zizhi Tongjian, in the second year of the Western Wei Dynasty (552 CE), Wei Xiaokuan was awarded the Yongzhou Assassin History for his military merits. Since ancient times, an earthen platform has been set up on the roadside every other mile on the official road as a marker to calculate the mileage of the road, which is now a milestone. After Wei Xiaokuan took office, he found that there were many shortcomings in Tutai. It can easily collapse under the wind and the sun, especially the rain, and requires frequent repairs, which not only increases the expenditure of the state, but also makes the people suffer from labor, which is time-consuming, laborious and inconvenient. After investigating and understanding, Wei Xiaokuan resolutely ordered all the places where tutai was set up on the official roads in Yongzhou to plant a locust tree to replace the tutai. This not only does it not lose its marking and metering role, but also shields pedestrians from the wind and rain, and does not need to be repaired. This practice of Wei Xiaokuan is undoubtedly a major measure to benefit Sangzi and alleviate the benefits of his hometown and the people. Shaanxi, as the earliest place in history to plant trees on official roads, was once a model for road greening in the country, and the locust tree planted by Wei Xiaokuan has been loved by people for thousands of years, especially Shaanxi people are fond of this locust tree, very fond of and widely planted, and now this locust tree has been identified as a city tree as a symbol of Xi'an City.
I think Arbor Day, it should be green, it should be wonderful. Because of the algae to the towering trees, the barren earth is full of life, there are animals, and then there are humans. Green nature is the cradle of human development, the treasure of human common wealth, and the source of human wisdom and life. After Arbor Day, I hope that everyone will protect the green, the awareness of loving the green will be stronger, and I hope that our social family can be greener and the sky is bluer.
Let's act together, starting from ourselves, loving a small tree, loving a small grass; starting from our side, stopping a game that damages the lawn, stopping the behavior of damaging the little flower, the little tree. Only then will our earth family be greener and more beautiful. Only in this way can our red flag be redder and more colorful. Let us work together to build a better society.