Red capital seeks more 'colorful' development (3)

Green economies

Yan'an used to be known for its dry weather and land with sparse vegetation.

Continuous reforestation projects since 1999 have greatly improved the city's ecological environment. More than 60 million hectares of cultivated land has been turned into forests. Yan'an covers an area of 370 million hectares.

Around 230,000 hectares of apple trees have been planted, which has become an important source of income for local farmers.

"If you look at a satellite remote-sensing map, you can see a green Yan'an contrasting with its surrounding areas and a distinctive outline is formed," Yao said.

"If we describe Yan'an between 1935 and 1948 as experiencing 13 years of red revolution, then it has experienced another 13 years of green revolution since 1999."

The city plans to launch a new reforestation project to return another 167,000 hectares of slope land using the government money, Yao said.