Xi's Culture Stories: Draw on History, Look into the Future

On July 25, 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, visited the Cuiyunlang section of the ancient Shu Road in Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province. During the trip, he learned about the efforts of local people to promote historical and cultural inheritance and advance ecological progress. 

In ancient times, Cuiyunlang served as a vital part of the Shu Road that linked the Guanzhong Plain and the Sichuan Basin. The area has the world’s best-preserved artificial cypress forest along ancient post routes. 

President Xi has always attached great importance to the protection of ancient trees. He often calls on people to cherish and preserve ancient trees as living “cultural relics.”

Historical records show that after reuniting China, the Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C.) started large-scale construction of roads radiating from its capital Xianyang to other parts of the country. To protect the roadbeds and shelter pedestrians from wind and scorching sunlight, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, ordered to plant pine and cypress trees on both sides of the roads, and forbade anyone to chop them down. 

We can foresee the future by reviewing the past. President Xi pointed out that the world’s largest ancient artificial cypress forest at Cuiyunlang is well-protected for so long, not only because of the logging bans and systems such as “local officials handing over official seals alongside the trees in the process of succession” adopted since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) but also due to the joint protection efforts of local people across generations. 

The systems invented by ancient Chinese to protect old threes not only reflect their awareness for ecological conservation but also provide precious experiences for ancient tree protection in the contemporary era. 

Today, harmonious coexistence between humans and nature has become an important concept embedded in the hearts of many people and a common pursuit of the global community. Mankind and nature are a community with a shared future. We shall protect nature and the eco-environment as we protect our eyes, and continue writing Chinese stories of green development.