Beijing has newly approved four national forest parks, bringing the total number to 12, the municipal forestry authorities said Wednesday.

The four forest parks, namely Xiayunling, Beigong, Huangsongyu and Badaling, boast rich plant and animal species and are of great importance to environment protection of the 2008 Olympics host, said the municipal forestry department.

The Badaling National Forest Park, for example, which is located between the world-renown Great Wall sections of Badaling and Juyongguan and covers an area of 2,930 hectares, is not only an important part of the Great Wall scenery, but also has the largest natural clove forest in north China, according to the department.

With the four new "members", Beijing's national forest parks cover more than 52,300 hectares since its first national forest park was set up in 1992.

The forest coverage rate reached 50.5 percent in Beijing by the end of last year, 8.6 percentage points higher than that of five years ago, according to the department.
 
(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2006)