North China's Shanxi province aims to afforest some 2,666 square kilometers of land in 2023. 

The province will provide incentives for the construction of 100 provincial-level forest villages, improve the quality of forest resources, promote national and provincial forest management pilot projects, and complete forest tending covering more than 666 sq km of land throughout the year. 

It will establish databases of grass germplasm resources in different regions, strengthen the selection and cultivation of native grass species, and focus on building a grass species breeding base in the northern part of the province. 

Relying on the protection and restoration of subalpine meadows and degraded grassland treatment in the Loess Plateau, Shanxi will complete more than 666-sq-km-worth of grassland improvement and restoration this year.

With the construction of Taihang Mountain (Zhongtiao Mountain) National Park at the core, the province will protect forest and grass resources, adjust and publish the local list of key protected wildlife, and coordinate the implementation of projects such as the protection of the North China leopards and the rescue and protection of very small wildlife populations, so as to further protect biodiversity.

In addition, Shanxi will develop dried fruit forests, expand forest-derived economy, promote forest tourism and health care, lay out a plan for the flower industry, and strengthen the regulation of forest and grass resources.

Last year, Shanxi afforested over 3,673 sq km of land and protected and restored some 186 sq km of grasslands. The forestry and grassland-related projects helped more than 300,000 people increase their incomes by a total of 613 million yuan ($90.85 million).