The pond in Mayoufang Village, formed by rainfalls, used to be a 40-meter-deep open-pit mine. (Photos: Xinhua)

Since the 1970s, 20 hectares of its surrounding forest have been destroyed due to long-term mining.

Starting from 2019, Lishu County began to restore vegetation to the mine and planted more than 100,000 trees and bushes.

Now the local government is planning to build a 50-hectare eco-tourism area around the reborned wasteland.

Aerial photo taken on June 22 shows people visiting a pond in Mayoufang Village, Lishu County, northeast China's Jilin Province.