China’s attention to environmental protection through a vigorous tree-planting campaign has become a ritual if not a culture. Concern for the environment is among China’s top priorities as this population-burdened country struggles frantically to appease nature by recreating life through plants, especially trees.
Tree planting is without doubt a very positive stride in making China not only greener but also a safe place for present and future generations. So far, there has been little complacency and (as in the case of Zhengzhou city), foreigners have been called upon to contribute their own quota in this desperate struggle to refresh our atmosphere by planting more trees.
It was in this light that thirteen foreign teachers made the trip to the Henan provincial capital of Zhengzhou to take part in this year’s tree-planting ceremony. The team which left Shengda campus on Saturday March 21st. Converging at the Zhengzhou Municipal Building all delegations drawn from different schools around Zhengzhou made a leisurely bus ride under police escort to the planting site. This site was same as last year, on the banks of the Yellow River. A few teachers who showed up this year actually recognized some of the trees they planted last year.
The pride of seeing life in a tree one planted only a few months ago is often beyond description. This perhaps explains the vigor and enthusiasm with which Shengda teachers drove more trees down the waiting holes.
This year’s event was celebrated under the theme “Establish a greener Zhengzhou, Plotting more friendship Forest.” The high level of mobilization and organization ensured the smooth movement of activities from start to finish. At the planting site, the open holes were fed to young trees in a manner that reflected both the zeal and dexterity of Shengda environmentalists. With the help of standby workers, the exercise took a very smooth, lively and quick pace.
The fatigue that came with hard work was blown away when lunch was announced. At the luxurious Chateau Legion hotel, not far from the planting site, the pretentiously starving teachers were served to lunch which comprised some delicacies of modern Chinese cuisine. Given the importance of this item on everyone’s agenda, the buffet was put to good use. This sumptuous meal provided energy for the next lap.
A visit to the Zhenzhou Geological Museum was the next step on the agenda. This tour provided Shengda teachers with a first hand view of China’s archeology, especially its rock types and also what can be seen of China’s 5000 year history. The (artificial) skeletons of giant dinosaurs and rhinoceroses held out vivid glimpses of man’s past. The entire story of how we moved to our present state of development is conspicuously captured in a picture whose caption read “The Transition from Ape to man.” For those to whom history or archeology meant little, the Yellow River had an answer.
A leisurely and refreshing ride on the historic Yellow River on board a hover-craft provided one of those unforgettable moments in the lives of many foreign teachers. Glenis confessed it was the first such trip in her life. Joe who himself had never ridden on a hover-craft asked her if there were no such vessels in her country.
It is said that all is well that ends well. The joy of planting trees, the sumptuous meal at Chateau Hotel, the visit to the scenic Zhengzhou museum and the leisurely ride on the historic Yellow River will be remembered not only in the pictures the teachers took, but also for the indelible impressions they will leave on the minds of the foreign teachers.
If all countries could blend tree-planting with entertainment of foreigners as China does, if all cities could behave like Zhengzhou, then salvation for our environment would be just around the corner. Perhaps this is what the Chinese sage Confucius meant when he said “What a joy it is to have brothers from the other side of the world.” （By Tongkeh Joseph Fowale, one foreign teacher in Shengda College）
