Expats from Poland, Canada, the UK and some other countries in Nantong city of east China’s Jiangsu province joined in the tree planting campaign Thursday in a bid to help the push for a greener Jiangsu.
春风十里，不及一抹绿意。3月11日，在植树节到来之际，来自波兰、加拿大、英国等10余个国家的40多名外国友人与南通市机关部门的志愿者一起，冒着蒙蒙细雨携手种下树苗，共同为“国际友谊林”添绿增彩。
More than 40 foreign friends joined hands with the volunteers from the local government agencies to plant trees in the midst of drizzle, and to do their bit for the expansion of the local international friendship forest. Maciej, a Poland executive from a company in Tongzhou district, arrived to dig pits, plant trees, fill soil and water the tree seedlings with great interest. He also wrote his name inscription on the tree.
绵绵春雨丝毫没有影响大家用双手迎接春天的热情, 来自波兰的外企高管马杰（Maciej）特地从通州赶来，兴致勃勃地挖坑、种树、填土、浇水，种植完成后，马杰在树的名牌上写下了对南通的祝福。在短短的1个小时时间里，40多名外国友人和志愿者共种下了120多棵榉树和水杉树苗。
马杰 波兰外企高管
Maciej, senior executive from a Poland-funded said that he had lived in China for 5 years and he was very happy to see the rapid changes in China. The green environment in Nantong is very well built and he was honored to be able to participate in the tree planting activities. He also said that his company has always been concerned about ecological protection in China and all over the world as it is a matter of concern to the children and future.
马杰说，“ 我在中国生活了5年，很高兴看到中国日新月异的变化，南通的绿色环境打造得非常好，很荣幸能参加今天的植树活动，我们企业也一直关注中国和全球的生态保护，这是关系到我们的孩子、我们的未来。”
Since 2014, the foreign affairs office and the information office of Nantong municipal government have cooperated with the development zone to launch an international friendship forest. Over the past years, more than 1000 trees were planted and the vibrant and green friendship forest is a permanent testimony of international friendship.
从2014年起，南通市外办、市新闻办与园区合作，共建国际友谊林，今年已进入第7个年头。6年来，外国友人和本地志愿者共植树1000多株，形成了近10亩的国际友谊林。友谊林现在生机勃勃、绿意盎然，这是中外合作践行绿色发展的成果，也是国际友谊的恒久见证。
侯艳秋 南通市政府外事办公室副主任
Hou Yanqiu, Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office, Nantong Municipal Government, said that Nantong Foreign Affairs Office and Nantong Information Office have organized voluntary tree planting for foreign friends studying and working in Nantong for more than ten years. Since 2014, the Municipal Foreign Affairs Office has cooperated with Suzhou-Wuxi-Nantong Industrial Park to open up an international friendship ecological forest. She expressed the hope that by organizing this tree-planting activity, foreign friends in Nantong can better integrate into the economic and social development of Nantong, witness the urban construction and ecological development of Nantong, and make them truly fall in love with Nantong.
南通市政府外事办公室副主任侯艳秋表示，希望通过组织这种植树活动，能够让在通的这些外国友人更好地融入南通经济社会的发展，能够见证南通的城市建设和生态的发展，能够让他们真正的爱上南通。
Guided by the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets as is proposed by general secretary Xi Jinping, the CPC Nantong Municipal Committee and the Nantong Municipal Government have mapped out the overall planning layout of the forest city and promoted high quality greening projects, as is rewarded by the title of "National Forest City". In 2019, the China Forest Tourism Festival was held in Nantong, which is the first time for this national event to be hosted by a prefecture-level city.
(Source:ourjiangsu.com)
