Over 10,000 trees were planted in 100 parks across Shenzhen on Thursday, marking the commencement of the city’s action plan to plant more than 1 million trees of different species in the next five years.

Around 100 representatives from all walks of life including political advisers and lawmakers participated in the tree-planting event at Shenzhen Central Park in Futian District, the launching event’s main venue, Thursday.

The action plan aims to expand the city’s green and tree areas, enhance its carbon sequestration capacity, and create a high-quality, livable urban environment, according to Fan Bing, deputy director of the Shenzhen greening management office.

The new trees will be planted in a wide range of locations, including roadsides, parks, outdoor trails, tourist attractions and residential compounds. Environmental factors will be taken into consideration when selecting tree species.

In addition, the city will prioritize the care and maintenance of existing trees, establish local nursery bases, and explore a mechanism encouraging the public to “adopt” and “plant” trees, according to the action plan.

Shenzhen lawmaker Cao Wei said that the event is a good way to connect people and nature and stressed the significance of planting more precious trees as these trees will have higher value as time goes by.