6 | DISCOVER SHANXI Friday, March 20, 2020 CHINA DAILY Financial institutions step forward to save businesses

The loan packages to the compa­ ny totaled 180 million yuan, accord­ ing to Shi. The procedure for applying for lending has been greatly stream­ lined. “It took only two days for the Shanxi branch of Agricultural Bank Increased lending of China to approve a loan of 50 mil­ to help companies lion yuan, after quickly examining The last patient of the novel coronavirus in Shanxi is cured and our financial situation and qualifi­ discharged from hospital on March 13. ZHANG BAOMING / FOR CHINA DAILY facing pressure cation,” Shi said. The Shanxi branches of the Agri­ By YUAN SHENGGAO cultural Development Bank of Chi­ na and Postal Saving Bank of China Province recovers fast Financial institutions in North Chi­ have shifted their focuses to serve na’s Shanxi province are taking steps local small and medium­sized enter­ to support local businesses in resum­ prises. ing operation by offering incentivized Tiantian Restaurant in Xiyang with all patients cured lending and facilitation measures, Employees at Pingyao Beef Group inspect products before they are county is an SME in Shanxi under according to local media reports. delivered to markets. LIU JIAQIONG / FOR CHINA DAILY great pressure. By YUAN SHENGGAO days, according to the Shanxi Since the outbreak of the novel With no business for more than a Health Commission. coronavirus epidemic, businesses in month, the company needed to pay The last patient of the novel The commission said all 117 Shanxi have faced difficulties due to While only half of the workers are interest rate of 3.15 percent. more than 200,000 yuan to its coronavirus pneumonia in counties and districts in Shanxi a shortage of labor force, inadequate back to work, Lei said the largest dif­ The company later obtained loans employees, according to Tian Yuli­ Shanxi was cured and discharged are now low­risk regions. funding and lack of access to logis­ ficulty is that there is no cash flow in from other local banks, with total an, general manager of Tiantian. from the Hospital for Infectious Despite the remarkable tics. the company. lending hitting 140 million yuan, all Adding to this difficulty, the res­ Disease in Jinzhong city on progress made in epidemic pre­ In Pingyao, one of the counties “Sales have decreased dramatical­ at a rate of 3.15 percent. taurant must pay 80,000 yuan a March 13. It marked a great victo­ vention and control, health offi­ hardest hit by the epidemic, local ly and we have to pay our employees Lei said with the support of the month to the Xiyang branch of Post­ ry for the province in epidemic cials and experts advised locals to companies have been under great even if they are still at home,” said banks and a recovering market, the al Serving Bank of China as princi­ control, according to local media stay alert. pressure — their operations are the the executive. company’s operations can get back pal and interest. reports. Residents are required to com­ latest to resume. Fortunately, the difficulty in fund­ to normal. Tian tried to report the difficult By that day, all 133 patients ply with local preventive meas­ Pingyao Beef Group is one of the ing is expected to be solved with the Companies engaged in the pro­ situation to the bank. To his sur­ confirmed with the virus had ures, such as wearing face largest food companies in the county. support of local financial institu­ duction of medicines and supplies prise, the bank agreed to reduce the been cured and released from masks, reporting their health Lei Bingyi, board chairman of the tions. for epidemic prevention and control repayment amount to 36,000 yuan hospitals in the province. No conditions and travel history to company, said its operations were put The Shanxi branch of the People’s have been prioritized by local finan­ for six months. suspected cases have been local community officials and on hold for nearly a month. Bank of China — the financial regula­ cial institutions. The bank’s staffers even helped reported since the end of Febru­ having their body temperatures “All the 1,000­or­so staff members tor in Shanxi — released a proposal Datong­based Sinopharm Weiqi­ the restaurant sell vegetables by ary. checked. were required to stay at home for on Feb 7, requiring local financial da Pharmaceutical is a key enter­ posting sales information on Local health officials said there They are also advised to wash quarantine or medical observation,” institutions to offer preferential loans prise producing medicines for the WeChat. were zero fatalities among the their hands frequently and venti­ Lei said. to key enterprises in the province. epidemic. Tian said the restaurant has sold patients and no infections among late their homes. “It’s lucky that no confirmed or Lei’s company is on the list of priority The company has obtained loans more than 3 metric tons of vegeta­ medical workers. According to national and suspected cases have been reported borrowers. from several banks in Shanxi, with bles with the help of the bank’s staff With the waning of the epi­ local regulations for the preven­ among our employees,” he added. Pingyao Beef received a loan of 10 the lowest interest rate at 2 percent, members. demic in the province, Shanxi tion and control of contagious The company resumed opera­ million yuan ($1.43 million) from far lower than standard market rate, announced it would lower its diseases, those who traveled tions on March 10 as the situation the Shanxi branch of China Con­ according to Shi Guizhong, finan­ Zhang Zhen contributed to emergency response from level from overseas and the rest of the improved in Pingyao. struction Bank, with a preferential cial manager of the company. this story. two to level three on March 10. country should report to local Pingyao, the hardest­hit coun­ public health authorities for ty in the province, was named a medical observation or quaran­ low­risk region on March 11. No tine if necessary. confirmed cases had been reported there for 14 consecutive Li Yu contributed to this story. Famous Yanmen Pass welcomes back visitors

By YUAN SHENGGAO . Situated at a place of strategic importance and difficult to get With the waning of the novel through, it was regarded as “the coronavirus epidemic in Shanxi, most important pass of the Nine Yanmen Pass, a renowned fortress Passes under Heaven” in ancient of the Great Wall of China, times. Many famous historical reopened to tourists on March 1. battles occurred in the area. A family led by a mother sur­ In the Warring States Period named Cao were the first visitors (475­221 BC), the original pass to the scenic spot after Spring Fes­ was built on the summit of a hill A local agricultural service company uses its tractors to water a wheat field in Xicheng county. HU BO / FOR CHINA DAILY tival, arriving at the gate at 10:35 accessible only by an ancient am. trail, for defense against the The attraction welcomed 14 northern nomads. During the tourists on that day. Yuan Dynasty (1271­1368) it fell More than 1 million hectares of woodland planted The site was closed on Jan 25 in into disrepair. The current Yan­ response to the emergency of the men Pass was rebuilt in 1374 dur­ novel coronavirus outbreak in the ing the Ming Dynasty (1368­ By YUAN SHENGGAO country. 1644). According to a proposal released Yanmen Pass is about 1 kilo­ Spring is the ideal time to plant 23.5 by the National Cultural Heritage meter long and the height of the trees in Shanxi, as well as other percent Administration on Feb 27, the wall is about 4 meters. There are parts of the country. the rate of forest coverage country’s cultural and historical three gates in Yanmen Pass, with Forestry authorities in the prov­ predicted for Shanxi province sites are to open gradually accord­ the central gate called Yanmen ince estimate that trees will be by the end of 2020 ing to the risk level of their local built over a tiny pass between planted on an area measuring regions. two hills. Yanmen means “wild around 270,000 hectares this The situation is described in a Xinzhou, where Yanmen Pass is goose gate” in Mandarin Chi­ spring, according to local media local saying: “Growing a tree is even located, is a low­risk city as recog­ nese, and is named so because reports. harder than raising a child.” nized by the Shanxi provincial gov­ wild geese are seen flying around Although March 12 is Tree­Plant­ “The people’s determination in ernment. The site opened to the pass every year. The western ing Day in China, the tree­planting cultivating their homeland comes tourists on March 1. gate is called Dili which means season in Shanxi can last from Feb­ from their belief that trees can help “I’m glad to visit the Great “to choose the proper location ruary to April, due to differences in shield them from the frequent, dev­ Wall in lovely weather and with for a battle”, and the eastern gate latitude and altitude. astating sandstorms,” said Li Yun­ so few people,” said Cao, who is called Tianxian which means As usual, Shanxi’s tree­planting sheng, boss of a local company that added she was satisfied with the “an impregnable fortress”. campaign started from Yuncheng, the plants trees. preventative measures taken by Yanmen Pass is about 20 km southernmost city in the province. Li, 64, said that he began to plant the scenic spot. from Daixian’s county seat and 180 Senior city officials launched trees with his parents and grandpar­ Located in Daixian county of km from Taiyuan, capital city of the provincial campaign by plant­ ents when he was a child. Xinzhou city, Yanmen Pass is an Shanxi province. ing more than 300 trees in Cang­ He was the president of a drivers’ important pass through the inner fang village in Xiezhou township. training school 18 years ago and hor­ line of the Great Wall. Li Yali contributed to this story. Students in Shanxi were taught ticulture had been his main hobby. online the history of the Chinese He said he was so “addicted to plant­ Tree­Planting Day and how the nat­ ing trees” that he resigned from the ural environment and people’s lives school and ran a tree­planting com­ can be changed by planting trees pany. and grasses. Over 18 years, he invested a total of They learned that Shanxi had 6 million yuan ($856,000) to plant 3 been suffering from environmental million trees on nearby hills and deterioration for several decades. mountains. This was a result of deforestation in Top: Farmers in Liulin county plant trees close to their farms. LI QIN / According to the Shanxi Forestry the development of mining and FOR CHINA DAILY Above: Thanks to constant cultivation, forest and grass and Grassland Bureau, the province agriculture. coverage in Youyu county has increased from 0.3 percent in 1949 to planted 1.27 million hectares of trees They also learned that local resi­ 56 percent in 2019. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY between 2016­19, costing a total of dents are now making painstaking 11.13 billion yuan. Provincial forest efforts to restore the environment. coverage reached 22.79 percent in Tree planting is one of these impor­ county’s forest coverage was only This is more than double the average 2018. tant efforts. 0.3 percent. national rate of 22.96 percent. With further efforts in cultivating A role model of the greening For seven decades, Youyu’s 20 Party It was not an easy job for Youyu the land, the bureau predicts the efforts in Shanxi province is Youyu secretaries have been engaged in a to accomplish considering its province’s forest coverage will reach county in Shuozhou city. constant campaign to plant trees. As tough natural environment, 23.5 percent by the end of 2020. When the People’s Republic of a result, the county’s forest and grass which features an average annual Yanmen Pass in Daixian county is one of the most strategic China was founded in 1949, the coverage has now reached 56 percent. rainfall of 410 millimeters. Li Yali contributed to this story. fortresses along the Great Wall. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

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