Beijing Promises to Fix Its Out-of-Control Catkins Problem
Beijingers looking for a reprieve from the smoggy skies of heating season won't find any relief with the arrival of spring, bringing with it millions of flying catkins along with thousands of runny noses and red irritated eyes. However, there's hope yet for residents with allergies as city authorities have promised to fix Beijing's notorious catkin problem in just three short years.
The city's Garden and Reforestry Department recently announced a new program that will treat and alter the city's 400,000 female poplar and willow trees in order to eradicate its catkin problem by 2020.
After studying and cataloging all female trees within Beijing's Fifth Ring Road, the city plans to deal with the overabundance of catkins during springtime by cutting down certain trees, pruning tree tops, and using chemicals to inhibit catkin production. On top of that, the city wants to perform sex-change operations on trees, changing some of them from female to male.
In the meantime, the city said it will use high-pressure water hoses to diminish the effect of flying catkins as well as use city resources to clear them away faster.
Basically described as petalless flowers distributed by the wind for pollination, catkins arrive each spring in Beijing with such numbers that it looks like a springtime snowfall. This year, the catkins have come almost two weeks earlier than usual due to spring being 7-10 days ahead of schedule.
If you've ever wondered which set of circumstances led Beijing to become such a nightmare for allergy sufferers, it turns out the decision to limit all Beijing trees to just a few species was yet another Chinese policy with wide-ranging consequences. During the 1960s and 1970s, Beijing populated the city exclusively with poplar and willow trees due to their suitability to the local environment and climate as well as their ease of maintenance.
Since then, poplar and willow trees have become ubiquitous through the capital. The 2 million willow and poplar trees located in the city center represent just 5 percent of the 37 million trees scattered throughout the greater Beijing municipality.
Thankfully, Beijing won't overcompensate for the policy by following public suggestions to cut down all of its female poplar and willow trees. Shen Guofang, a scholar at the Engineering Academy of China, said following this course of action would not be "smart."
With skies routinely full of either pollution or pollen, Beijing residents may be inclined to stay at home with the windows tightly shut, no matter the season. But, a brighter future may be waiting.
Along with the catkins program, city officials said they will create 6 million hectares of green space in the form of 15 parks and 50 miniature nature zones.
Images: Photophoto.cn, Xinhuanet.com, Blog.Sina.com.cn, TakeFoto.cn
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