Luntai County, located on the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, is famous for its natural poplars, majesty, seas and imagery. According to statistics, Luntai has more than 800,000 mu of poplar forests, mainly distributed on the north bank of the Tarim River Basin, which plays an important role in improving the regional ecological environment and protecting the integrity of the ecosystem. In recent years, with the support of the central and local ecological protection policies, Luntai County has adhered to the priority of ecological protection in economic development, so that the ecological function of poplar forest has been continuously enhanced, and the sense of good ecological environment of the people of all ethnic groups has continued to improve.
Poplar transformed and improved the ecological environment
Luntai County is the area with the highest concentration of original poplar forests in the entire Tarim River Basin, and the poplar forests near the Tarim River area are the best growing. For a long time, Luntai County has clearly defined the functional positioning of poplar forests in ecological environmental protection, and regards the protection and restoration of poplar forests as an important part of building a good ecological environment chain. Since 2018, Luntai County has seized the autonomous region's policy support for the ecological protection of poplar forests in the Tarim River Basin, and carried out protective restoration of vulnerable poplar forest areas by means of flood irrigation, dam construction and water dam blocking, and river restoration, which has further enhanced the ecological benefits of poplar forests and consolidated the stability of the ecosystem in the Tarim River Basin. In 2019 alone, flood irrigation of 150,000 mu of poplar forests, the construction of 13 dredging channels, the construction and dredging of 51.37 kilometers of flood channels, the construction of 9 dams, "that is really the big guys desperately worked." "Recalling those years, Wang Xiangbao, who has been engaged in forest protection for 37 years, still has a deep feeling." The autonomous region issued 9.7 million yuan of funds, from the leaders of the bureau to the rangers of the management and protection station are very excited, full of energy in their hearts, all thinking that they must give the poplar forest of the wheel platform a 'long face'. "As of now, 500,000 mu of poplar forests have been ecologically restored.
Luntai County has 19 poplar forest management and protection stations with 230 rangers. As one of them, Wang Xiangbao is responsible for patrolling the poplar forest covering an area of more than 300,000 mu. "4 years walking, 1 year riding a donkey, 7 years riding a bike... The hardships of the period are known only to themselves. Wang Xiangbao said. However, what makes him happy is that with the proposal of the "Two Mountains Theory" and the in-depth promotion of the comprehensive management of the Tarim River Basin, all sectors of society have attached great importance to ecological protection and praised poplar forests. As a ranger, Wang Xiangbao and his colleagues have also increased their responsibilities from a single forest ranger to the current poplar forest resource management, pest control, wildlife protection, fire prevention and logging prohibition and other safety knowledge and legal and regulatory publicity. After years of careful protection, the poplar grass vegetation in the Luntai section of the Tarim River has been restored year by year, and the once extinct animals and plants have reappeared in the Tarim River Basin. The poplar forest in Luntai County has become the "green lung" of the Tarim Basin, playing a guarantee role in improving the living environment, conserving water and soil resources, and preventing desert closure, and has been selected by China National Geographic as one of the "Top Ten Most Beautiful Forests in China". ”
Digging for gold in the forest highlights the economic benefits
A good ecological environment is the fairest public good and the most inclusive people's livelihood and well-being. Poplar forest is a gift from nature to Luntai County, and is the ecological wealth that the people of all ethnic groups in Luntai County are proud of. With the development of the tourism industry, the poplar forest landscape has become a major selling point. Luntai County combined ecological advantages to create a well-known poplar forest park inside and outside Xinjiang, and built a national 4A-level scenic spot. Under the continuous release of social governance dividends, more and more tourists are infected by the beauty of Poplar Forest Park and the miraculous creation of nature. "The tarim river, desert wonders, poplar scenery and so on are all in one, and it is beautiful." Every year, tourists can't help but marvel at the picturesque poplar forest scenery. "Nowadays, Poplar Forest has become a window for publicizing and promoting Luntai County and a business card for promoting cultural tourism." The person in charge of the Luntai County Cultural and Tourism Bureau said. "Hu Yanglin Park receives tourists mainly concentrated in autumn, at present, Luntai County is further increasing the transformation and upgrading of park scenic spots, in the marketing management mechanism, amusement facilities, leisure project design, catering service guarantee and other aspects will have greater development and changes, to promote the realization of all-season tourism." In the near future, the development pattern of the cultural tourism industry of "five parks and one village", including Poplar Forest Park, will be further consolidated and developed. ”
At present, Luntai uses the strength of the whole county to give full play to the ecological and economic advantages of poplar forest, actively develop cultural tourism integration products, promote boutique tourism and performing arts programs, successively hold hiking, cycling races, desert cross-country and other activities, promote the "Poplar Cultural Tourism Festival" brand activities that integrate photography, style collection, national culture dissemination, etc., and strive to make the ancient and mysterious poplar glow with the atmosphere of the new era. Since 2016, The cumulative number of tourists received by Poplar Forest Park has exceeded 5 million, and the average annual growth rate of the number of tourists has remained at 23.8%.
Sustainable protection, inheriting the spirit of poplar
For thousands of years, the vast poplar has taken deep root in the earth, and has long cast an immortal spiritual monument in the hearts of the people of all ethnic groups in Luntai County. From the new China to the new period to the new era, the spirit of poplar has continuously nourished the hearts of the masses of all ethnic groups. No matter how far away from home, the wanderers will often think of the indomitable poplar forest in their hometown and the poplar ballads that have been sung for generations. For the poplar forest that carries the spirit of poplar, Luntai County has never stopped protecting it.
Luntai County adheres to the concept of government-led, departmental linkage, social coordination, and public participation in the protection of poplar forests, gives full play to the guiding and forcing role of ecological environmental protection, strengthens the use of the results of rectification and reform of the feedback of the central environmental protection inspectors, improves and perfects the long-term governance mechanism for illegal acts such as indiscriminate logging, illegal reclamation and water extraction, promotes the formation of a supervision system with full coverage and all elements, and alleviates the structural, root and trend pressure of poplar forest protection as a whole. Since the launch of the "Green Shield" special action, Luntai County has carried out boundary surveys and landmarks in an orderly manner, accumulatively disposed of 20 sludge points left over from the history of poplar forest protection areas, 21 oil and gas wells (stations), with an area of 21,798 mu of arable land withdrawal and 39 illegal buildings demolished.
The person in charge of the Propaganda Department of the Luntai County Party Committee said, "It is necessary to practice the poplar spirit of 'hard work, unremitting self-improvement, rooted in the frontier, and willing to dedicate'. As the oldest, largest and most completely preserved place of poplar in the world, Luntai County regards strengthening publicity and education on ecological environmental protection as an important way to establish a public opinion atmosphere in which everyone is the protector, builder and beneficiary of poplar forest, so that people of all ethnic groups can see the mountains, see the water, remember the homesickness, and let more people understand the poplar and fall in love with the spirit of the poplar forest. ”
Autumn is high and crisp, and it is almost the best time of year to see poplars. Wanqing poplar has opened its arms and is warmly welcoming tourists from all directions. (Li Xinfang)