Why Arbor Day is on March 12

March 12 is the Arbor Day in China every year, and it is also the anniversary of the death of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. There are two main reasons for determining this day as Arbor Day, one is that it is the season for planting trees; The second is to commemorate Mr. Sun Yat-sen.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen has been fond of planting trees since he was a child, and a 100-year-old Honolulu caper tree still grows in his former home. When Mr. Sun Yat-sen was 18 years old, he brought back the seedlings from Honolulu in the United States and planted them by himself, and finally became mature under his careful cultivation.

Sun Yat-sen was the first person in modern China to strongly advocate afforestation. In the political document "Shang Li Hongzhangshu", which he personally drafted, he proposed that if China wants to be strong, it must "urgently promote agriculture and pay attention to arboriculture".

After the Xinhai Revolution, Dr. Sun Yat-sen advocated large-scale afforestation in northern and central China. In 1924, in a speech in Guangzhou, he emphasized that the fundamental way to prevent floods and droughts is to continue to plant trees, and to create large-scale forests.

At the initiative of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, China first stipulated on July 30, 1915 that Qingming Festival was the Arbor Day every year. On March 12, 1925, after the death of Sun Yat-sen, it was decided to designate March 12, the day of Sun Yat-sen's death, as Arbor Day to commemorate his achievements in advocating afforestation.

In the past, Arbor Day was set at Qingming Festival, and Sun Yat-sen died on March 12, 1925. In order to commemorate Sun Yat-sen's spirit of planting trees, Arbor Day was rescheduled on March 12.

After the sting, the temperature gradually rises, the shallow soil layer has melted in the Guannai, due to the spring breeze, the surface water is easy to evaporate, and the soil moisture of the tree planting in mid-March is good, and the survival rate is high. In February 1979, the Sixth Session of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress of China decided to designate March 12 as China's Arbor Day. In December 1981, the Fourth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress passed the "Resolution on Carrying out the Nationwide Voluntary Tree Planting Campaign", and promulgated the specific implementation measures of the National Voluntary Tree Planting Campaign in the following year.

Before and after Arbor Day, all parts of China should focus on afforestation activities. Since December 1981, more than 35 billion trees have been planted on a voluntary basis in China. By the end of 2000, the per capita public green space in China's forest cities had increased to square meters, and the total area of nature reserves in the country exceeded 100 million hectares.

In commemoration of Sun Yat-sen's death.

In memory of Sun Yat-sen.

Arbor Day is a festival that publicizes the protection of trees in accordance with the law and organizes and mobilizes the masses to actively participate in afforestation. According to the length of time, it can be divided into Arbor Day, Arbor Week and Arbor Month, which are collectively known as International Arbor Day. Through such activities, we advocate that people's enthusiasm for afforestation and awareness of the importance of environmental protection will be stimulated.

China's Arbor Day was initiated in 1915 by Ling Daoyang, Han An, Pei Yili and other forestry scientists, and was originally scheduled to be the annual Qingming Festival. In 1928, in order to commemorate the third anniversary of Sun Yat-sen's death, the Arbor Day was changed to March 12. In 1979, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the sixth meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress decided to designate March 12 as China's Arbor Day every year.

In ancient China, there was a tradition of planting willows and trees during the Qingming Festival, and the earliest tree planting on the roadside in history was initiated by a person named Wei Xiaokuan from Shaanxi more than 1,400 years ago. Wei Xiaokuan (508-580 AD) was a famous general in the Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties, and a native of Jingzhao Duling (southeast of present-day Xi'an). According to the fifty-second record of Tang Li Yanshou's "Northern History", in the second year of the abolition of the emperor of the Western Wei Dynasty (552 AD), Wei Xiaokuan was awarded the Yongzhou Assassin History for his military merits.

Since ancient times, an earthen platform has been set up on the side of the road every other mile on the official road as a marker to calculate the mileage of the road, which is the current milestone. After Wei Xiaokuan took office, he found that there were many shortcomings of the earthen platform, which was easily collapsed by wind and sun, especially by rain, and needed to be repaired frequently, which not only increased the state's expenditure, but also caused the people to suffer from labor, which was time-consuming, laborious and inconvenient.

On March 12, 1925, Dr. Sun Yat-sen passed away. In order to commemorate the founding father of the country, Mr. Sun Yat-sen, the national ** set March 12 every year as "Arbor Day".

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the party and the state have attached great importance to the construction of afforestation. In the mid-50s of the last century, Chairman *** called for "greening the motherland" and "implementing land gardening". In 1956, China began its first "12-year greening campaign".

On February 23, 1979, at the sixth meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress, according to the proposal, in order to mobilize the people of all ethnic groups across the country to plant trees and accelerate the greening of the motherland, furthermore, in order to commemorate Mr. Sun Yat-sen, it was decided that March 12 every year was the national Arbor Day.

Regarding the origin of Arbor Day, why is March 12 designated as Arbor Day?

Why plant trees on Arbor Day on March 12? What is the purpose of planting trees?

In 1979, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress designated March 12 as China's Arbor Day. This day is designated as Arbor Day to commemorate Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who has always attached importance to and advocated afforestation (March 12 is the anniversary of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's death). In addition, March 12 is just after the sting, before the spring equinox, when the temperature and humidity are suitable for plant growth, and this is the most suitable time for planting trees.