This year’s World Environment Day coincides with China’s traditional Dragon Boat Festival holiday, prompting many environmental protection organizations to organize interactive activities for public participation.

CDB was invited to join the two-day “2024 Beijing Xishan Forest Carnival” co-organized by the SEE Foundation, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Landscape and Greening, and other NGOs at Xishan National Forest Park

Themed ” Back to the Forest and Embracing the Green Pine”, the event featured three main sections: the Forest Garden Party, Forest Ecological Run, and Forest Concert.

The carnival aimed to deepen the public’s understanding of biodiversity through a variety of themed interactive experiences while promoting the concept of green living and protecting our environment.

Natural art installations, object theaters, recycling concerts, healing workshops, ecological image exhibitions, and sustainable markets were all part of the event. Participants could receive a nature experience guide package, unlock secrets, listen to forest stories, and feel the resonance and symbiosis between humans and nature through a series of fun and engaging interactions.

Forest Ecological Run | Dance with Nature and Run in the Green Forests

As the first event of the carnival, the Forest Ecological Run started at 8 am on Saturday, June 8. It was divided into three categories: Eco-diversity Group (10 km), Clean Mountain Group (5 km) and Wild Fun “Genome” Group (2.5 km Parent-child Group). This event attracted over 500 running enthusiasts who ran along the winding tracks and the forest trails, experiencing the beauty of nature.

Runners in the 10-kilometer Eco-diversity Group passed many landmarks of Xishan National Forest Park, such as “Ghost Laughing Stone” and “Mid-level Mountain Pavilion”, and enjoyed panoramic views of Beijing from the mountaintop.

Participants in the Clean Mountain Group ran without being timed and took on the task of picking up litter, contributing to the cleanup of the forest.

CDB staff participated in this group and were surprised by the amount of garbage along the way: “I originally thought that after years of education and supervision, the tourists’ environmental awareness should have improved, and considering the hard work of sanitation workers, there would be little garbage in the national park. However, each of us still picked up a bag full of garbage, mainly paper scraps, plastic packaging, cigarette butts, and ice cream sticks.”

“The appearance of so many cigarette butts is particularly shocking.” added another runner, “On the one hand, it is an annoying  pollution problem, and on the other hand, smoking is strictly prohibited here for forest fire prevention reasons.” This section of the run made participants more aware of the severity of environmental protection issues.

The Wild Fun “Genome” Group mainly consisted of family runners. Parents and children together enjoyed the charm of biological diversity. There were several interactive check-in points along the way, allowing children to learn, experience, and understand nature through a variety of engaging games.

Forest Garden Party | Be Friends with Nature and Experience the Green Paradise

During the two-day event, visitors encountered “elves” hidden throughout the forest. Volunteer dancers portrayed pine trees, oak trees, rock squirrels, red-billed blue magpies, and other animals and plants, as well as forest music elves, bringing visitors a vivid forest carnival to life.

In many mountain climbing rest areas and open spaces in the forest, natural art exhibitions, interactive drama performances, ecological photography exhibitions and other sections, allowed visitors to appreciate the beauty of nature while gaining a deeper understanding of the importance of biodiversity.

There were also dedicated environmental recycling workshops and a sustainable market. Visitors can learn how to turn waste into treasure and experience the fun of green living.

CDB staff participated in a music-themed workshop where musicians from the Kokoi band demonstrated how to create musical instruments from old slippers, plastic bottles, bottle caps, empty cans, and more. They played several passionate rock songs using these recycled instruments.

After the performance, the musicians o taught the children on-site how to make musical instruments out of waste materials.

The market featured various environmentally friendly products and board games, allowing visitors to experience the charm of sustainable development through shopping and entertainment.

Additionally, experts and representatives from various environmental NGOs gave speeches and shared their experiences, systematically expounding on climate knowledge and environmental protection concepts.

Forest Concert | Resonate with Nature and Listen to the Green Symphony

On the evening of June 9, as the grand finale of the carnival, the renowned conductor Tan Lihua and the Beijing Symphony Orchestra presented the “Zero Carbon Forest Concert” to the audience on the lawn of Xishan National Forest Park,

The concert featured world-famous masterpieces, such as “The Blue Danube,” Beethoven’s “Sixth Symphony ‘Pastoral,'” and Strauss’s “Tales from the Vienna Woods” Waltz.

The forest concert emphasized the “zero carbon” concept by avoiding the distribution of bottled water or paper programs at the event. The audience was encouraged to travel using eco-friendly methods and  to leave no waste behind.

It is estimated that this event will generate 3.2 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, which the organizers will offset through forestry carbon sinks by planting 11 acres of trees in the national forest park.