On November 11, I arrived at Shoushan Forest Park in Xiangcheng County, Henan. This place was once a barren wasteland, but now it has transformed into a beautiful natural oxygen bar with green mountains and clear waters, attracting tourists from hundreds of miles away. After 7 years of careful management by the Second Geological Exploration Institute of Henan Province (hereinafter referred to as "Geological Exploration Institute No. 2"), it has changed from its old appearance to a new one, with lush greenery and fragrant flowers.
A corner of Shoushan.
The old Shoushan, full of holes.
Shoushan is located 5 miles south of Xiangcheng County, Henan, and is the head of the 800-mile Funiu Mountains, hence the name Shoushan. Shoushan has a long history; it is said that the Yellow Emperor cast tripods and refined alchemy here, and once mined copper from this mountain, "The Yellow Emperor mined copper from Shoushan and cast tripods at the foot of Jingshan." To this day, a large brick carving of the "Yellow Emperor Mining Copper" shadow wall from the Ming Jiajing period is still preserved at the foot of the mountain. On the northwest side of the mountain is Qianming Temple, known as the "First Zen Forest in Zhongzhou." Because the temple is built in the shade of the mountain, it is commonly referred to as the "Back Shadow Temple."
Shoushan is rich in red stone, which is entirely fire-red, hard, fine, wear-resistant, and corrosion-resistant, making it an excellent material for making stone tools and utensils. The previous disorderly mining greatly damaged the ecological environment of Shoushan, leaving the surface bare, the mountain fragmented, and the vegetation desolate. During rainy days, there was also a risk of landslides and collapses. The mountain is dotted with various pits of different sizes and depths, with cliffs and steep walls everywhere. The entire mountain is riddled with holes, and the waste stones and debris that were stripped away were piled up haphazardly, resulting in the current situation of "pits connected, debris piled into mountains," severely damaging the original topography and geomorphology of Shoushan.
Technicians from Geological Exploration Institute No. 2 found through aerial photos and field investigations of Shoushan that the vegetation on the south slope and the top of the mountain was severely damaged, with a vegetation coverage rate of about 30%, leaving only a small amount of shrubs and weeds; the north slope had a slightly higher vegetation coverage rate of about 50%. The exploration area is located in the southern mountain area of Shoushan, where vegetation damage is most severe, and through ecological vegetation surveys, the vegetation coverage rate is below 30%, with only a small amount of shrubs and weeds remaining.
Careful management has brought a new look.
Green mountains and clear waters are invaluable assets. In 2014, the Henan Provincial Department of Finance issued a project document for the geological environment management of Shoushan Mine in Xiangcheng County, allocating 40 million yuan. The project is undertaken by the Xiangcheng County People's Government, with the Xiangcheng County Natural Resources Bureau as the organizing and implementing unit.
On December 22, 2015, the Xiangcheng County Natural Resources Bureau issued a construction bidding announcement, and Geological Exploration Institute No. 2 was responsible for the environmental management of Shoushan Mine. The project passed the acceptance organized by the Xuchang City Natural Resources and Planning Bureau on August 5, 2020.
According to Li Jichao, director of the Water and Environment Division of Geological Exploration Institute No. 2, they invested more than 10 sets of large machinery and overcame difficulties such as large area, many personnel, and high coordination difficulty. Through projects such as pit backfilling, slope remediation, slope protection, and drainage collection, they eliminated most geological disaster hazards in the area; they also used measures such as dangerous rock clearing, land leveling, tree planting, and grass sowing to greatly restore the topography and geomorphology, maximizing the restoration of land functions.
Li Jichao stated that due to the relatively flat terrain of the management platform area, after leveling, they mainly planted fruit trees such as cherries, persimmons, walnuts, jujubes, apricots, pomegranates, and peaches, planting more than 30,000 fruit trees over an area of 160,000 square meters, thus transforming Shoushan into an ecological park for "sightseeing, picking, cultural paradise, and returning to nature." On one hand, it improved the quality of the natural ecology and landscape environment while promoting local economic development. On the other hand, it satisfied people's psychological needs to return to nature, alleviating the tension and pressure brought by busy urban life.
In terms of greening the slope areas, they mainly chose plants suitable for slope planting such as forsythia, weeping mulberry, and purple-hued locust, which are economical and beautiful while protecting the soil and stabilizing the slope. The greening area is 380,000 square meters, and they also planted medicinal plants with high value such as Sichuan pepper, honeysuckle, and goji berries, which can be picked while being ornamental, adding fun to the entire scenic area.
During the 7 years of management, more than 10 technicians from Geological Exploration Institute No. 2 actively practiced General Secretary Xi Jinping's ecological civilization thought, rooted in Xiangcheng County. During the exploration, design, and construction processes, they lost count of how many times they walked back and forth in Shoushan. Every grass and tree here embodies the hard work of geological technicians. Based on actual conditions, they adjusted design plans in a timely manner and checked construction progress, watching the once abandoned and dilapidated mine transform into a picturesque landscape through their efforts, feeling that no matter how much they invested, it was worth it.
Huang Kai, deputy director of the Environmental Division of Geological Exploration Institute No. 2, told me that to strengthen project management, the project management department has set up departments such as safety assurance, equipment and materials, engineering technology, and quality management to manage this project. In terms of management, a project responsibility system is implemented, with each department managing its own work scope, ensuring that every task has someone responsible, someone to implement, and someone to manage, ensuring that the project quality, schedule, cost, safety, and civilized construction meet the target requirements.
Huang Kai stated that to protect the ecological environment and prevent soil erosion, they actively planned comprehensively, arranged reasonably, and turned harm into benefit during construction, creating and maintaining a clean and suitable living and production environment for local residents.
The implementation of this project has effectively improved the soil erosion situation in Shoushan, allowing the bare surface to be covered by grass and trees, greatly reducing the occurrence of various geological disasters and promoting a virtuous cycle of the entire ecosystem. After the management, they planted a large number of local trees, reducing the hazard level of exposed rock walls; they planted a variety of flowers and grasses, making Shoushan look like a shy girl, beautifully dressed. These plants also have a positive effect on the local microclimate and greatly promote the improvement of the local ecological environment quality.
The park is beautiful with picturesque scenery.
On November 11, the geological environment restoration and management project of Shoushan Mine in Xiangcheng County (2018) successfully passed the final acceptance by the Henan Provincial Department of Natural Resources. Experts unanimously agreed that the project was carried out strictly according to the requirements of the "Project Management Plan," eliminating geological disaster hazards, achieving management effects, and that the acceptance materials were complete, unanimously agreeing to pass the final acceptance.
Once, Shoushan was a bare surface with exposed rocks and scattered mining debris, overgrown with wild grass, making it difficult to find a path. Today, Shoushan has become a beautiful forest park, with flowers and grass covering the mountains, creating a natural oxygen bar. Here, you can escape the hustle and bustle of the city. In spring, you can stroll through the forest, blending in with the beauty of trees, flowers, insects, and birds, feeling the breath of spring; in summer, you can fish by the lake, having an intimate encounter with nature; in autumn, you can wander through a sea of flowers or ride along the shaded paths, filled with the beauty of nature, making you forget the troubles of the mundane world; in winter, you can see Shoushan wrapped in silver, experiencing the unique scenery of Shoushan after the snow.
Shoushan's excellent ecological environment and charming scenery have become well-known. In 2019, Xiangcheng County hosted the first provincial event, the Sports Lottery · Huanzhongyuan 2019 "Five Rings Sports Cup" Bicycle Open, attracting over a thousand professional and amateur cyclists from 11 countries, including Russia, Canada, France, and Australia, to gather in Shoushan.
Today, Shoushan has gradually become a mountain forest park that integrates sightseeing, tourism, leisure, and entertainment, with a continuous flow of visitors. The change in the ecological environment and the rise of rural tourism have greatly boosted local economic development. Local villagers have transferred their land to enterprises, engaging in large-scale planting of rapeseed and cherries, forming planting bases that not only yield agricultural benefits but also provide opportunities for sightseeing and fruit picking. Villagers have also kept pace with the times by opening farmhouses, offering local delicacies from Xiangcheng County to tourists.
The change in the ecological environment has produced a series of "butterfly effects," greatly supporting the local poverty alleviation efforts. Relying on the implementation of the Shoushan mining geological environment restoration project, Xiangcheng County has successfully held three consecutive Shoushan Rapeseed Flower Tourism Culture Festivals. During this period, the area has received over 1 million tourists and signed 48 projects with merchants, achieving an investment of 9 billion yuan, boosting the collective economy of 18 surrounding villages by over 3.8 million yuan, resulting in good social and economic benefits.
The current Shoushan is no longer what it used to be; it is a mountain forest park that integrates sightseeing, tourism, leisure, and entertainment, and is a well-known tourist resort. Thanks to the unremitting efforts of the colleagues from the Second Geological Exploration Institute, Shoushan has shed its desolate appearance and has gradually completed the colorful transformation of its life!
Website Editor: Gong Li