The Shanxi branch of the Agriculture Development Bank of China (ADBC) will offer 15 billion yuan ($2.23 billion) in credit to further forestry development in Shanxi, according to an agreement signed on Oct 17.

The bank will provide financial support in constructing local woods, infrastructure of plantations, as well as developing ecotourism during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020).

The cooperation between ADBC and Shanxi is expected to accelerate the upgrading of the forestry industry and promote environmental protection in Shanxi.

To call on more residents to take part in afforestation, the Forestry Department of Shanxi has carried out several activities, with forestry experts invited to give villagers in remote mountainous areas free training about planting on Oct 17.

Meanwhile, the Shanxi authority dispatched officials in the forestry department to villages in Pingshun county to help and encourage locals to grow trees, which in turn is expected to create more jobs. Consultations focusing on how to plant vegetation on bare mountains and increase farmers' harvests were also conducted in Xingxian, Lanxian and Jingle counties.