Moments of the week (03/13-03/19)

11:13, March 19, 2023

• 6 Photos

  Cherry blossom cultural festival opens Saturday at Yuyuantan Park in Beijing

  A cherry blossom cultural festival opened at Yuyuantan Park in Beijing on Saturday. (Photos: CFP; Compiled by Guo Xingzhe)Cherry trees bloom in Yuyuantan Park in Beijing on Friday. There are currently nearly 3,000 cherry trees of more than 40 varieties in the park, making it one of the largest cherry blossom viewing parks in North China.People enjoy cherry blossoms at Yuyuantan Park in Beijing on Friday. As the temperature rises, different varieties will bloom.This photo shows a cherry-blossom-themed carnival at the festival. The festival is expected to last for a month.This photo shows the food for sale at the carnival.Cherry trees bloom in Yuyuantan Park in Beijing on Friday.

• 7 Photos

  Critically endangered river terns spotted in Southwest China's Yunnan

  Several river terns were recently spotted in a national wetland park in Southwest China's Yunnan Province.In this set of photos, river terns are seen either catching fishes or flitting around above the wetland.The river tern is a freshwater bird native to India and East Asia. In recent years, a rapid population decline of the species has occurred due to human disturbance.The species is listed as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and it is also under first-class protection in China.There are now only five river terns in China, according to figures provided by Yingjiang National Wetland Park.It's currently the birds' breeding season – In the wetland park, a river tern couple have laid three eggs and are hatching chicks, while another couple is expected to start brooding.(Photos by Ma Yun and Zhu Bianyong; Compiled by Sun Hang)

• 10 Photos

  Infographic: China's economic achievements over last three years

• 5 Photos

  China adds 3.83 million hectares of forest in 2022

  China added 3.83 million hectares of forest in 2022, according to a bulletin showcasing China's afforestation progress in 2022 released by the Office of the National Greening Committee on Sunday, China's 45th Tree Planting Day. This photo taken on Friday shows students planting trees voluntarily along the Yellow River ecological corridor in Dongying, East China's Shandong Province. (Photo: CFP) (Compiled by Yu Dian and Xie Runjia)In addition to forests, last year, 3.21 million hectares of grassland were improved through grass planting. This photo taken on July 21, 2022, shows the Ar Horqin grassland in Tongliao, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Photo: People's Daily)A total of 1.84 million hectares of land were saved from desertification or stony desertification in 2022. This photo taken on August 10, 2022, shows workers making straw checkerboard sand barriers to combat desertification in Qilian Mountains National Park, Northwest China's Gansu Province. (Photo: CFP)China currently has 231 million hectares of forests, with a coverage rate of 24.02 percent. This photo taken on January 7, 2023, shows fir forests in Xixi National Wetland Park in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo: CFP)China now is home to 265 million hectares of grasslands, and the comprehensive vegetation coverage reached 50.32 percent. This photo taken on April 23, 2022, shows Ditan Park in Beijing. (Photo: CFP)