"Old comrade, are you the one who went to receive the award internationally?"

  "When did you get there?"

  "How is your life now? Where do you live?"

  On August 23, 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected the Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm in Chengde, Hebei.

When communicating with the representatives of the three generations of employees of the forest farm, the general secretary immediately mentioned the situation of Chen Yanxian, the representative of the first generation of retired employees.

  In 2017, Chen Yanxian took back the "Earth Guardian Award" issued by the United Nations Environment Programme on behalf of the staff of the forest farm.

  "The general secretary is so busy, and remembering me as an ordinary worker makes us feel very cordial." Chen Yanxian, who was over seventy years old, recalled that the general secretary said that he had never been to Chengde or Saihanba before, but the general secretary said that he had never been to Chengde before. The secretary knows Saihanba very well.

  Four years before the inspection, in August 2017, General Secretary Xi Jinping gave important instructions to the builders of Hebei Saihanba Forest Farm's touching deeds, praising the builders of the forest farm for "forging a vision of keeping in mind the mission, hard work, and green development." Saihanba Spirit".

  "I came back to Chengde for the first time, and I've always been yearning for it. There are many things here that I want to know and have a look at." The first stop of General Secretary Xi Jinping's trip to Chengde came to this green forest. .

  Saihanba is located in the northern part of Hebei Province. More than half a century ago, it was a vast wasteland with no habitat for birds and yellow sand. Now it has built a million mu of forest farms, becoming a world of flowers and a sea of ​​forests.

Like an eagle spreading its wings, Saihanba guards the southern edge of the Hunshandake Sandy Land in Inner Mongolia, guarding the ecological security of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and North China.

  Behind the vicissitudes of life are the hard work and selfless dedication of three generations of Saihanba people.

  The place where the Xinhua News Agency reporter took this photo, the Shanghai Memorial Forest, is the origin of the millions of acres of green forests.

  The word "Shanghai" refers to Wang Shanghai, the first secretary of the Party Committee of the forest farm.

  In Saihanba 60 years ago, in addition to being cold, it was windy and sandy, and the living environment was extremely difficult.

Wang Shanghai led a team of 369 people with an average age of less than 24 to start afforestation in the vast wasteland.

  At the beginning, the afforestation survival rate of the forest farm was less than 8%, and everyone's enthusiasm was severely poured cold water.

However, Wang Shanghai's stubbornness came up. He rode his horse across the mountains and ridges of the forest farm and decided to lead more than 100 people to carry out the "Afforestation Battle".

  On the exhibition board in the memorial forest, an old photo caught the attention of the general secretary.

In the photo, Wang Shanghai is squatting on the ground to study afforestation technology with the staff.

  "Is this the scene of the 'Afforestation Battle'?" Staring at the photo, the general secretary asked.

  "Yes." Chen Zhiqing, director of the forest farm, pointed to old photos and introduced to the general secretary: At that time, one person was required to plant the seedlings in the afforestation, and two people steadied the soil on it to prevent the seedlings from losing water; the older generation of Saihanba people were riding horses to protect the forest. , At that time, I had to live on a horse shelf and drink water by melting snow.

  "Under such difficult conditions at that time, the forest was built!" The general secretary said with emotion, and asked about Comrade Wang Shanghai.

  "He couldn't let go of this forest. After his death in 1989, his family complied with his last wish and scatters his ashes here to be with every grass and tree here forever." Chen Zhiqing introduced.

  Along the wooden plank road, the general secretary stepped into the forest.

In front of a larch, the general secretary looked up at the tall tree trunk, and measured it with his hands: "It grows very well, the trunk is very straight."

  "How is the forest raised?" "How is the biodiversity in the forest?" "Are there any animals in the upper biological chain?" The general secretary asked along the way to learn more about the ecological environment of the forest farm.

  "I told the general secretary that black pheasants and roe deer often appear here, and wolves have also been found in these years. The general secretary was very happy to hear it, and said with a smile that this is very good." Chen Zhiqing recalled.

  From the gray-haired old man to the high-spirited youth, the team of forest guards is getting stronger and stronger.

  In the face of three generations of forest farm workers, General Secretary Xi Jinping said: "You have created the Saihanba spirit of remembering the mission, hard work, and green development with practical actions, which is of great demonstration significance to the national ecological civilization construction."

  "The general secretary said that the construction of ecological civilization depends not only on material but also on spirit." After experiencing the difficulties in the early stage of construction, Chen Yanxian felt a lot about the general secretary's words, "We will replace the spirit of Saihanba It is passed down from generation to generation, no matter what the circumstances are, you must devote all your strength to the land under your feet."

  Today, the spirit of Saihanba has taken root in China, and more and more green is making our home more beautiful.

  Time is a faithful recorder, engraving the progress of those in power.

Since April 18, Xinhua News Agency has opened the "Warm Moments from the Close-Up Lens" column, carefully selecting the wonderful moments of General Secretary Xi Jinping's governance since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and telling the warm stories behind each photo.

  Chief planner: Fu Hua, Lv Yansong

  Director system: Zhang Sutang

  Planning: Sun Chengbin and Chen Erhou

  Producer: Zhao Cheng Liu Jie Sun Zhiping Chen Kaixing Huo Xiaoguang Lai Xiangdong Fan Hua Chang Ailing

  Coordination: Li Zhongfa Wu Dan Huang Yue

  Text: Gao Jing Gao Bo Cao Guo Factory

  Photography: Li Xueren

  Audio: Ng Wei Ling Dong Linna

  Visual: Bi Xiaoyang Li Jing

  Design: Jiao Xufeng Yin Zhe Lunma Development

  Coordinator: Hu Ruohan and Wang Xiaojiao

  Promotion: Li Ming Zhao Peng

  Produced by the first studio of Xinhua News Agency