When was the custom of planting trees in ancient China?

In ancient China, there was a tradition of inserting willows and planting trees in Tomb-Sweeping Day. The earliest roadside tree planting in history was initiated by a man named Wei Xiaokuan in Shaanxi more than 400 years ago.

Wei Xiaokuan (508-580 AD) was a famous soldier in the Western Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasties. He was born in Jingzhao Ling Du (now southeast of Xi 'an). According to the fifty-second record of li yanshou's Biography of Northern History in the Tang Dynasty, in the second year of the Western Wei Dynasty (AD 552), Wei Xiaokuan was awarded the secretariat of Yongzhou for his exploits.

Since ancient times, an earthen platform has been erected on the roadside every other mile on the official road as a mark for calculating the road mileage, which is now a milestone. After Wei Xiaokuan took office, he found that the soil platform had many shortcomings. After weathering by wind and sun, especially by rain, it is easy to collapse and needs frequent maintenance, which not only increases the state expenditure, but also makes the people suffer from hard work, which is time-consuming, laborious and inconvenient.

After investigation and understanding, Wei Xiaokuan resolutely ordered all the places where earthen platforms were set on Yongzhou Road to replant a locust tree instead of earthen platforms. In this way, it not only does not lose its marking and sliding functions, but also provides shelter for pedestrians and does not need maintenance. Wei Xiaokuan's practice is undoubtedly an important measure to benefit Mulberry, reduce the burden on the people in his hometown and benefit the country and the people.

Shaanxi, as the earliest place to plant trees on official roads in history, was once a model of road greening in China. Wei Xiaokuan's earliest planting of Sophora japonica has been deeply loved by people for thousands of years, especially Shaanxi people, who have a special liking for this kind of Sophora japonica and are very fond of it and widely planted. Now this locust tree has been identified as a city tree as a symbol of Xi.

Arbor Day related laws:

19811213. The resolution on launching a nationwide voluntary tree planting campaign was adopted.

1982 the State Council promulgated the measures for the implementation of the nationwide voluntary tree planting campaign.

On July 1 2020, the newly revised Forest Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) came into effect, and March 12 is designated as Arbor Day every year.

The new forest law classifies forests into public welfare forests and commercial forests. Public welfare forests are strictly protected, and commercial forests are operated independently by forestry operators according to law, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of various forestry operators and realizing the sustainable development of forestry construction.

In addition, the new forest law has adjusted the scope of issuing forest cutting licenses and no longer requires cutting bamboo forests outside nature reserves. The harvesting of farmland shelterbelts, windbreak and sand fixation forests, highway shelterbelts, bank protection forests, dike forests and urban trees in non-forest land shall be managed in accordance with the highway law, flood control law and urban greening regulations.

Refer to the above? Baidu encyclopedia-Arbor Day