Deep Love for the Land

This book presents the history of three generations of heroic men and women devoting their youth and life for more than half a century to build Saihanba Afforestation Community， a recipient of UNEP’s Champions of the Earth prize. The stories in this book are an epitome of the 55-year development of Saihanba， showcasing the pioneers’ persistent efforts and miraculous achievements in turning the treeless， sandy wasteland into a vast forest.

Saihanba： A Champion of the Earth

Feng Xiaojun

China Intercontinental Press

March 2022

119.00 （CNY）

Feng Xiaojun

Feng Xiaojun， a member of the China Writers’ Association and deputy editor of the Ecological Culture Journal， has won many awards including the 6th Bing Xin Prose Award and the 3rd Sun Li Literature Award. His works include Don’t Forget This Forest， Skipping Stones Across the River， Essays in the Woods， and Beauty in the Folk.

Wang Shanghai， the first secretary of the Communist Party of China （CPC） committee at Saihanba Afforestation Community， repeatedly told his family on his deathbed that he wanted his ashes to be scattered in the forest in Matikeng， Saihanba，after his death. Why was he so insistent on that？

In 1921， Wang was born into a poor family in Lijiazhuang village， Yangbai township， Wutai county， Shanxi province. His childhood memories were engraved with hunger and cold. Wang’s father always wanted to get rid of poverty and low status and hoped his son would be successful in the future. Therefore， he tightened his belt to save money so that his son could go to a private school. The young Shanghai loved learning so much that he could recite his textbooks fluently from memory. However， he later dropped out of school due to his family’s poverty.

At the age of 19， Wang joined a militia and began to fight in guerrilla warfare against Japanese invaders at the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei border region. He experienced many battles， and just narrowly escaped death many times. During those years， he saw many of his comrades-in-arms die for the country on this land.

Later， after a decisive victory in land reform and bandit suppression， Weichang county was liberated due to the great support of the public. By that time， Wang had grown from a soldier during the wartime into an excellent leading official of the county， working as the secretary of the CPC Weichang County Committee.

In the early 1960s， Wang had just turned 40， and he worked as the director of Chengde Agriculture Bureau. He and his family lived in a small but comfortable building in the central urban area where his wife also worked， and their children went to school. They lived a harmonious and happy life.

In July 1962， after deliberation， the Ministry of Forestry and Farming together with Hebei Provincial and Chengde Municipal governments decided to appoint Wang as the secretary of the CPC committee at Saihanba Afforestation Community.

The middle-aged man was familiar with the geographical conditions and local customs of Weichang county and Saihanba agreed to take up the new position without hesitation. He seemed like a soldier who was going off to join a new battle. He set out on time in a jeep for his new battlefield， together with Liu Wenshi， who had been appointed director of Saihanba Afforestation Community. Due to the bumpy mountain roads， it took them more than 10 hours to finish the over-200-kilometer journey.

On the evening of their arrival at Saihanba， Wang and Liu had a meeting with Zhang Qi’en and Wang Fuming， Saihanba Afforestation Community’s deputy directors who arrived earlier. They discussed till midnight about a series of issues from growing saplings and afforestation to leadership and work disciplines， itching to put their ideas into practice.

Following the arrival of Wang and Liu， the community became more vibrant.

However， what Wang never expected was that “a pot of cold water” would be thrown at him just as he was about to make all his efforts to start his work. The office director Zou Huanzhang gave him several envelopes. He opened them and found they were all applications for a job transfer.

Wang was confused： “What the hell？ Why do these people want to leave after he has just come several days before？ Isn’t that embarrassing？”

While he was upset about this， there was a knock on the door. Wang greeted the visitor with a smiling face. The latter returned with ingratiating greetings and at the same time gave him an application for a job transfer along with a letter from one of his relatives to Wang. The visitor told Wang his relative — whom Wang knew — wrote the letter in hope that Wang could make an exception for him so that he could transfer to another post.

Hearing that， Wang got very angry， and raised his voice. He clearly told the visitor to give up the idea forever and threw the envelope back at him unceremoniously. Coldly， he said to the visitor： “An old friend should not cut the ground from under his friend’s feet！ You go back and tell your relative that he should support the afforestation project and support me！ I made it clear， no one can leave， nor can you！”

Being rejected， the man felt awkward and disappointed， and slipped away coyly， mumbling something unclear.

Wang then thought： If this problem could not be solved， the community could be broken up！

Therefore， he made up his mind to reassure the people in the community.

At night， Wang was unable to fall asleep. Therefore， he put on his clothes and came to Liu’s room. The two men then had a heart-to-heart talk， and surprisingly， they were on the same page that immediate action should be taken to reassure the people so that they would stay here. “What about moving our families here？ We are leading officials. If we have moved the whole family into the area， will any others have the nerve to ask for a transfer！” They finally made up their mind.

The two men soon put it into action. They went back to Chengde the next day and moved their families to Saihanba a couple of days later.

The moment the truck carrying their families drove into the community， many officials and workers and their families came and crowded around the truck to see what was going on. Wang and Liu’s colleagues helped unload the things from the truck and move the furniture into the rooms. The onlookers were curious about what the families had， because， after all， Wang and Liu were the highest-ranking officials in the community. However， what they saw were only simple furniture and beddings， and even chamber pots （a kind of container kept in bedrooms for night time use）.

Then the news that Secretary Wang and Director Liu had moved their families into the community went around and shocked the people in the five branch forest farms and those in tens of afforestation zones. Since then， Wang and Liu received many compliments from the people around them but never any application for a job transfer.

However， Wang and Liu believed that these people asking for a transfer must have reasons that they were reluctant to speak up about， not just family difficulties or fear of hardship and fatigue. They knew that the problem could not be solved just by not letting anyone leave.

Then， trying to find out the root causes， the community’s leading officials including Wang Shanghai， Liu Wenshi， Wang Fuming， and Zhang Qi’en discussed a couple of times. They finally agreed that the most critical task was to make everyone be hopeful about the future of the community. They believed the failures of the afforestation several years ago and the lack of vitality of the community were the main causes.

In 1975， subordinating himself to the arrangement of the superior authorities， Wang left Saihanba to work at Chengde Meteorological Bureau. Before his departure， he paid a special visit to Matikeng. Strolling in the forest of larches he and his colleagues had planted， he had mixed feelings. He patted the thick trunks of the trees with his hands and said sadly： “Old fellows， I planted you here， but now I have to go！ You don’t blame me， do you？” He talked to the trees for a long time， pouring out his frustrations and worries， and then when he felt better， he walked out of the forest， despite the fact that he was reluctant to leave and desired to stay a little longer.

Some may ask， “How could he possibly leave for the new post after he swore to stay there forever？”

The reason was that， after experiencing many years of wars， Wang had always deemed obedience to the Communist Party of China （CPC） as his first duty. He always followed the arrangement of the Party， even when he was reluctant to do so.

Although Wang had left the community， he never hid his concern for it. Even when he did hear some sarcastic remarks， he just ignored them and continued to show his concern for the community.

In October 1977， Saihanba Afforestation Community suffered a serious disaster of glaze ice. Hearing the news， Wang immediately called the community office to inquire about the impact of the disaster. When he was told that more than 500，000 mu （about 33，333 hectares） of forests were affected， his voice turned hoarse， indicating his sadness.

Wang made many achievements throughout his life， but deep in his heart， he believed his most glorious period was the 13 years he spent in the community.

People who accompanied him in his last moments said he raised his arm before his death， and assumed that it was a gesture pointing to the direction of Saihanba — his favorite place that was always on his mind.

Wang Shanghai left， and now he is back.

On December 30， when the northern plateau was covered by the silvery white snow in the late winter， the small auditorium at Saihanba Afforestation Community， including its aisles， was full of people who came to attend the memorial service for Wang Shanghai， the former secretary of the CPC committee in the community.

At Matikeng， Wang’s children walked gingerly in the snow among the tall and upright larch trees and the withered yellow weeds， holding their father’s ashes in their hands and then scattering them into the forest amid the heart-rending cries.

Did people’s grief drown the roars of the cold wind？ Surprisingly， the forest was particularly silent that day. The larch trees planted by Wang and his colleagues had grown into a dense forest. Why was the forest so quiet？ Was that because it knew that their old friend Wang Shanghai had come and would accompany it forever？

In 1991， the CPC committee at Saihanba Afforestation Community decided to build a monument for Wang Shanghai at the forest where his ashes stay， and name the forest “Shanghai Memorial Forest”.