South China's Guangdong province completed 392 projects under the Ecological Construction of Green and Beautiful Guangdong from 2023 to 2025, including 79 ancient tree parks, 156 green and beautiful ancient tree villages and 157 green and beautiful red-themed villages, covering all 21 prefecture-level cities across the province.

Guangdong is home to over 80,000 ancient and famous trees aged 100 years or more, which are regarded as important ecological assets and key carriers of Lingnan cultural heritage.

Following the principles of "One Tree, One Policy" and "One Park, One Scene", the province has equipped ancient tree parks with public amenities such as leisure trails and science education corridors, building inclusive public spaces that integrate ecological protection, nature education and recreation while benefiting both ancient tree conservation and public well-being.

Flocks of black‑faced spoonbills soar over the thriving wetland. [Photo provided to en.gdfao.gov.cn/]

Rural projects under the initiative integrate ecological improvement with rural vitalization and cultural preservation. Villages rich in ancient tree resources have upgraded their living environments through conservation efforts while improving rural infrastructure and fostering new industries such as eco-tourism and specialty planting. These efforts have helped create representative ancient tree villages like Mumian in Guangzhou's Conghua district, Shangfengshan in Shaoguan's Renhua county, and Gucheng in Zhaoqing's Huaiji county.

Shishui village, Yanghe town, Gaoming district, Foshan city. [Photo provided to gdee.gd.gov.cn]

Villages with abundant revolutionary resources have closely tied the preservation of this heritage to ecological development by restoring historical sites and developing study tour routes. Distinctive villages such as Huangma Community in Guangzhou's Huangpu district, Huangzhou village in Huizhou's Huidong county, and Nanlou village in Jiangmen's Kaiping city have become popular red tourism destinations, turning rural areas into happy homes for residents, where they can live and work in peace and contentment.

Guangdong will refine its long-term protection mechanism for ancient and famous trees, advance technological innovation, and continue improving project quality, so as to build a beautiful homeland with coordinated urban-rural development and support the development of a green and beautiful Guangdong where humans and nature coexist in harmony.