Article 34
This article examines early PRC rural policy through three interconnected domains: agriculture, fisheries, and water control. Following agrarian reform, the government prioritized mobilizing peasants and labour for agricultural recovery, promoting mutual aid and cooperation while seeking to restore and surpass prewar production levels. Policy emphasized irrigation, flood control, fertilizer supply, livestock protection, pest control, land reclamation, and afforestation, alongside the nationalization of major natural resources as stipulated in the Agrarian Reform Law. Despite redistribution and organizational change, peasant livelihoods remained highly vulnerable to natural shocks, and the household continued to function as the core economic unit. Fiscal policy placed heavy burdens on agriculture, as state extraction exceeded reinvestment.
In fisheries, the CCP extended state authority to coastal and inland waters through cooperatives, state markets, and administrative regulation. Although fisheries recovered modestly after 1949, they remained underdeveloped, with aquaculture marginal and marine capture dominant. State intervention reorganized production and marketing but struggled to reconcile revolutionary frameworks with coastal realities.
Water control and irrigation were central to infrastructure investment. Large-scale projects mobilized millions of rural labourers and expanded irrigation and hydropower, yet suffered from corruption, uneven effectiveness, and environmental neglect. Recurrent floods and droughts underscored both the achievements and limits of early PRC resource management.
Land reclamation, forestry, and animal husbandry were central components of early PRC rural development, but they also generated profound ecological and social consequences. Beginning in the late 1940s, land reclamation expanded rapidly, particularly in the Northeast, Xinjiang, and coastal intertidal zones, often led by the PLA and demobilized soldiers. While reviving fallow land initially increased cultivated area, further expansion required reclaiming forests, wetlands, and grasslands, contributing to environmental degradation, dust storms, and declining soil quality.
Forestry policy prioritized timber extraction to support industrialization rather than sustainable management. Extensive nationalization during land reform gave the state control over most timber production, but low procurement prices and weak oversight encouraged overlogging and waste. Although early 1950s afforestation campaigns achieved impressive headline results, they emphasized planting targets over survival and long-term care, limiting their effectiveness. Overall deforestation accelerated markedly during the 1950s.
Animal husbandry was shaped by regional ecological differences and uneven land reform. Grasslands, formally declared public property, faced mounting pressure as grain cultivation expanded into pastoral areas. The conversion of rangeland to cropland—often without rotational systems or artificial grassland development—led to widespread degradation and desertification. Middle peasants initially retained livestock advantages after land reform but lost them under collectivization. State control over animal products, particularly wool, further integrated pastoral production into the planned economy, often at the expense of ecological sustainability.
During the early PRC, agricultural policy aimed to increase production through higher yields per unit area and expanded cultivation. While mechanization, new crop varieties, fertilizers, and pesticides offered potential productivity gains, limited capital meant labour mobilization remained the primary strategy. Mechanization advanced steadily: existing tools were refurbished, irrigation and drainage improved, and tractors were introduced following Soviet models. Agricultural knowledge was disseminated via radio, printed bulletins, cooperative meetings, and expert guidance, including land reform areas. Improved seeds—often foreign or pre-1949 domestic varieties—were promoted alongside traditional organic fertilizer practices. However, scientific research and technological dissemination were constrained by scarce funding and personnel.
In fisheries, the CCP extended state authority to coastal and inland waters through cooperatives, state markets, and administrative regulation. Although fisheries recovered modestly after 1949, they remained underdeveloped, with aquaculture marginal and marine capture dominant. State intervention reorganized production and marketing but struggled to reconcile revolutionary frameworks with coastal realities.
Water control and irrigation were central to infrastructure investment. Large-scale projects mobilized millions of rural labourers and expanded irrigation and hydropower, yet suffered from corruption, uneven effectiveness, and environmental neglect. Recurrent floods and droughts underscored both the achievements and limits of early PRC resource management.
Land reclamation, forestry, and animal husbandry were central components of early PRC rural development, but they also generated profound ecological and social consequences. Beginning in the late 1940s, land reclamation expanded rapidly, particularly in the Northeast, Xinjiang, and coastal intertidal zones, often led by the PLA and demobilized soldiers. While reviving fallow land initially increased cultivated area, further expansion required reclaiming forests, wetlands, and grasslands, contributing to environmental degradation, dust storms, and declining soil quality.
Forestry policy prioritized timber extraction to support industrialization rather than sustainable management. Extensive nationalization during land reform gave the state control over most timber production, but low procurement prices and weak oversight encouraged overlogging and waste. Although early 1950s afforestation campaigns achieved impressive headline results, they emphasized planting targets over survival and long-term care, limiting their effectiveness. Overall deforestation accelerated markedly during the 1950s.
Animal husbandry was shaped by regional ecological differences and uneven land reform. Grasslands, formally declared public property, faced mounting pressure as grain cultivation expanded into pastoral areas. The conversion of rangeland to cropland—often without rotational systems or artificial grassland development—led to widespread degradation and desertification. Middle peasants initially retained livestock advantages after land reform but lost them under collectivization. State control over animal products, particularly wool, further integrated pastoral production into the planned economy, often at the expense of ecological sustainability.
During the early PRC, agricultural policy aimed to increase production through higher yields per unit area and expanded cultivation. While mechanization, new crop varieties, fertilizers, and pesticides offered potential productivity gains, limited capital meant labour mobilization remained the primary strategy. Mechanization advanced steadily: existing tools were refurbished, irrigation and drainage improved, and tractors were introduced following Soviet models. Agricultural knowledge was disseminated via radio, printed bulletins, cooperative meetings, and expert guidance, including land reform areas. Improved seeds—often foreign or pre-1949 domestic varieties—were promoted alongside traditional organic fertilizer practices. However, scientific research and technological dissemination were constrained by scarce funding and personnel.
The focus of this article is threefold. In areas with agrarian reform, the people's government focused on organizing peasants and manpower for agricultural development. It promoted mutual aid and cooperation among peasants. Agrarian reform in newly liberated areas was integrated with agricultural revival. Secondly, the government aimed to restore and surpass pre-war production levels, emphasizing irrigation, flood prevention, animal husbandry, fertilizer supply, farm improvements, pest control, and planned migration for land reclamation. Thirdly, forest protection and planned afforestation were priorities, along with safeguarding coastal fisheries and developing the aquatic products industry. Livestock-raising was protected with preventive measures against diseases.
Article 18 of the agrarian reform law of the People's Republic of China reads:
"All large forests, large water conservancy works, large expanses of wasteland, large uncultivated hillsides, big salt fields and mines as well as lakes, marshes, rivers and ports must be nationalised and be managed and operated by the People's Government, those in which private capital has been invested and which have so far been privately managed shall continue to be operated by the existing management, according to the decrees promulgated by the People's Government."
Area by Region (in million mu)
Acreage: 1.000 Production: 1.000 metric tons Yield: 1bs per acre
Acreage: 1.000 Production: 1.000 metric tons Yield: 1bs per acre
Share of total state aid to agriculture in total state expenditures
Share of state investment in agriculture in total state capital investment
Billion yuan
The impact of these reforms was profound. In Hubei Province, for example, the government's intervention significantly altered the relationship between fishermen and the state. Traditional power dynamics were disrupted, and the state's authority extended deeply into the lives and livelihoods of fishing communities. This transformation fundamentally reshaped the fishing industry's landscape, with far-reaching consequences for fishermen and the broader economy. The implementation of policies further reflected the interplay of revolutionary ideals, popular perceptions, and coastal realities. In practice, the conventional rural class categories were inadequate for coastal villages where people relied on fishing for their livelihood. This required tailored approaches beyond conventional frameworks. The 1953 classification later reflected the state’s evolving attitudes towards fishing as a distinct economic activity in rural China.
Within China's fishing industry, three distinct types of fisheries exist: deep-sea, inshore, and inland. Deep-sea fishing remains underdeveloped, with most vessels not venturing beyond the continental shelf's edge. Coastal fishing, while significant, lacks systematic development. Inland fisheries can be found in lakes, rivers, canals, and ponds.
Volume: mt
Throughout the past few centuries, China had a longstanding tradition of cultivating more than ten marine plants and animals, including four seaweed varieties, five molluscs, one shrimp, and one fish species. However, due to the limited efficiency of prevailing methods and reliance on natural seed and substrates, the annual total production remained small, amounting to less than 10,000 metric tons. Dietary habits favouring fresh fish and limitations in storage, processing, and transportation technologies, most water products were sold locally or in nearby areas.
The exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the People's Republic of China refers to the maritime area adjacent to and beyond its territorial sea. It extends up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline used for calculating territorial sea breadth.
*millions of hectare **millions of ton
Irrigation in the Chengdu Plain is a good example of the efforts made by the government. Despite the destruction during the Civil war, the irrigation system still worked. After mobilizing local people, PRC engineers started to expand the ancient Dujiangyan irrigation system. The People’s Canal was built in early 1953, extending the irrigated area to the northeast, and enlarged it in the winters of 1953–54 and 1954–55, almost doubling the area irrigated with the diverted waters of the Min River.
In 1950, a large-scale irrigation project was initiated to manage the Huai River, resulting in a 65% reduction in flooded areas compared to 1950. In October 1951, construction began on the Upper Yongding River. Similar to the land reform initiatives, the construction of irrigation systems served as a means to mobilize rural areas. The Huai River irrigation project mobilized 220,000 workers, while the Guangting Reservoir construction in the Yongding River required 40,000 labourers, and the works in the Jingjiang involved over 300,000 workers. However, these construction endeavours were plagued by instances of fraud and negligence. Inferior and faulty materials were utilized, leading to significant challenges. For instance, in 1952, the Henan Province incurred disbursements exceeding 50 billion yuan (old RMB) in Shanghai for labour and equipment procurement for the Huai River project. Shockingly, dishonest merchants in Shanghai managed to cheat and steal several billion yuan from these funds.
Terraced fields were built primarily to conserve water and soil and to boost agricultural yields. They first appeared during the Qin and Han Dynasties, especially in the mountainous regions of Jiangnan—a geographic area south of the lower Yangtze River, including the southern part of the Yangtze Delta. Today, most terraced fields are found in Guangxi and Yunnan. In Northern Shaanxi and Western Shanxi, terraced field construction started much later, becoming widespread only in the 1950s. Initially, locals resisted terraces, but they eventually came to accept them. Shanxi Province adopted the "Resolutions on the Planned Performance of Water and Soil Conservation Work throughout the Province," which stated:
"Key measures for effective water and soil conservation include changing inappropriate land usage practices, promoting the construction of terraced fields on sloped arable land, and transforming the inefficient farming method of 'planting widely but reaping little.'"In northern China, inadequate surface water resources necessitated the reliance on groundwater for irrigation projects. Furthermore, numerous rivers were harnessed for hydropower production. In 1949, only 22 large dams were operational, generating a total installed hydropower capacity of 163 MW2. Plans to construct a series of large dams along the Changjiang (Yangtze) River for flood control and electricity generation were initially conceived as early as 1919. However, these projects were abandoned due to the civil war. The devastating flood of 1954 expedited preparations for the Three Gorges Dam, and one year later, planning activities commenced with the assistance of Soviet Union experts. To fully harness hydropower, the central government mandated the installation of small hydropower generating units wherever feasible. In 1953, an administrative agency for Small Hydropower was established under the Ministry of Agriculture, and training programs were organized to cultivate experts nationwide. However, these small-scale projects remained isolated and scattered.
Starting in 1947, the CCP began experimental reclamation programs in the Northeast and expanded them after 1949. Demobilized soldiers and active military units began reclaiming lands for agriculture in three major areas of former wetlands and forested lands: in the valleys of the Nen River and its tributaries along the border with Inner Mongolia, in the plains along the Amur (or Heilong) River, and in the Three Rivers Plain.
The Huai River irrigation project was not only designed as an irrigation project and a defense against floods but also as a land reclamation project.
Land reclamation was not confined to the inland of China. From 1949 onwards, large areas of intertidal zone were enclosed for salt pan expansion, especially along the coasts of Hebei, Tianjin, and Hainan. Large-scale human migration for the purposes of land reclamation, industrialization, and construction in Northwest China caused dust storms in Northwest China.
Historically, China possessed extensive forest resources, with forests covering roughly half of the country’s territory, particularly in the southwest. By 1949, however, forest coverage was estimated to have fallen to 8.6 percent. Continued population growth and ineffective state policies accelerated this decline, reducing forest cover to less than 5 percent in subsequent years.
The Ministry of Forestry was structured and operated primarily as a supplier of industrial raw materials, much like the ministries responsible for coal and mining, rather than as a steward of a finite yet renewable resource. This institutional orientation resulted in severe overexploitation, with minimal attention paid to reforestation. Moreover, procurement prices were set at uniformly low and inflexible levels, encouraging excessive logging, generating persistent shortages, and producing widespread waste throughout the forestry system.
During the land reform campaign, China's forests underwent a significant restructuring of ownership. Natural forests that were privately owned by wealthy landlords were confiscated, along with some forests belonging to rich peasants and common forests. This resulted in the nationalization of 42% of China's total forested area, which gave the state control over 68% of the country's yearly timber production.
The remaining forests were redistributed equally among rural households, with former landlords receiving the same share as everyone else. This policy was implemented across all of China, except for Tibet and the border regions of Yunnan, which were home to ethnic minority groups. In these areas, confiscated forests were not given to individual households. Instead, they were designated as common property for the village communities, a decision that reflected the political sensitivity of the border regions.
However, as landlords were killed or arrested, their properties, including forests, were to be redistributed. Encouraged by local officials, villagers rushed to chop down trees, believing the timber now belonged to the public. They sold the logs for profit to boost local funds. The authorities attempted to stop this uncontrolled logging, which led to clashes with villagers. Additionally, villagers from different communities fought each other to secure more logs and greater profits, often leading to further bloodshed.
China made significant strides in reforestation during the early 1950s. In the spring of 1951, the country afforested 500,000 acres of land—more than the GMD government had accomplished in its 22-year rule. By the middle of 1954, an impressive 1,625,000 acres of land in eastern Henan, western Hebei, and parts of the northeast and northwest had been reforested. These new plantations were intended to protect nearly 52 million acres of farmland. By 1955, an additional 550,000 acres of trees were planted, creating a shelter belt that stretched from eastern Inner Mongolia into the northeastern provinces. This effort was so successful that agricultural yields in the nearby areas reportedly increased fivefold.
However, despite these initial successes, the broader reforestation efforts during the Mao era were largely a failure. This was due to two main issues: an overemphasis on the number of trees planted and a lack of post-planting care. The drive to show increasingly high numbers of planted trees meant that little attention was paid to whether the trees actually survived and thrived, ultimately undermining the long-term goals of the program.
In the first period of the establishment of cooperatives (See
* Usually, 'sizable' meant natural forest areas larger than 33.3 ha and economic forest areas larger than 6.7 ha. However, the local governments could set their own standard
**Trees from which an income could be obtained without felling them, for example, through the sale of fruits
***Trees grown for timber
In total, there were 142,184 km2 of primary forest (Table 1) while secondary forest stood at 68,801 km2 in 1958. During 1949-1958 deforested area mounted to a net loss of 60,265 km2 . Consequently, forested area was reduced to 247,755 km2 at an annual rate of 1183 km2. The pace of deforestation in this period drastically quickened than in the previous period. Page 348
China's vast and varied landscape, characterized by diverse topography and climates, supports a wide range of domesticated animals. Traditionally, sheep, cattle, and horses have been prevalent in the grazing regions of the northeast, northwest, and southwest—areas with low population density that account for 54 percent of the country's land area. In contrast, the rest of China, dominated by intensive agriculture, primarily raised swine and poultry due to their suitability as supplementary livestock. Horses and water buffalo also remained vital as draft animals in these regions. From the 1950s to the 1970s, the boundary between pastoral and farming areas gradually shifted northward, influenced by the expansion of crop cultivation into grasslands. Grasslands are the dominant landscape in China, accounting for 40% of the national land area, about 78% or some 313 million ha of the grasslands in China occur in the northern temperate zone. Traditionally, grasslands have been the major sources of animal products such as meat, milk, wool and pelts, and are home to the majority of the ethnic people. The growing demand for natural resources and animal products, driven by rapidly increasing human populations, has exerted immense pressure on grassland ecosystems. This has led to accelerated and widespread degradation and desertification of these ecosystems, particularly in regions with fragile environmental conditions and weak ecosystem structures.
The timing and execution of land reform for grazing lands varied significantly across different pastoral regions of China. In Inner Mongolia, it occurred between 1947 and 1952, at the same time as agricultural land reform. Xinjiang's land reform took place from 1953 to 1954, followed by Qinghai (1952–1958) and Sichuan (1955–1960), Tibet was the last to undergo this reform, from 1959 to 1961.
The extent to which grazing lands were expropriated from landlords and rich peasants also differed by time and location. The early land reform efforts in the "old revolutionary base areas" were more radical, resulting in the confiscation and redistribution of most land, including grazing land, from landlords. In contrast, later periods saw a more moderate approach, where rich and middle peasants were allowed to retain some of their landholdings. By the end of the land reform process, grasslands were officially declared public property under the policy of "grasslands are public, grazing is free," though small portions remained in private hands.
In contrast, the property of middle peasants, who had a long-standing tradition of farming their own land and raising their own animals, remained largely intact after the reform. The CCP believed that securing a strong alliance with the middle peasants was crucial for the success of the revolution and reform. Therefore, land reform policies were clear: middle peasants' lands and interests were to be protected at all costs. After the land reform, middle peasants, who made up about 37 percent of rural households, owned 44 percent of the land and 52 percent of the draft animals. However, in advanced cooperatives where output was distributed based solely on input, middle peasants stood to lose their relative advantage. Consequently, they were initially reluctant to join these cooperatives voluntarily, though they were eventually compelled to do so. See
Sheep were hold for the production of wool. Raw wool has consistently been listed in the second category (see
The ultimate objective of the agricultural policy was to enhance agricultural production, and this could be achieved through two primary approaches: either increasing the yield per cultivated area or expanding the cultivated area itself. Double cropping was a method to raise the yield per cultivated area by increasing the area sown, while various factors - such as waterworks, traditional fertilizers, chemical fertilizers, new crop varieties, pesticides, and machinery - had the potential to boost yields per sown area. However, it's important to note that chemical fertilizers, new crop varieties, pesticides, and machinery all necessitated capital inputs, which the planners were either unwilling or unable to provide. This situation left labour mobilization as the primary strategy for augmenting the food supply. Despite limited resources, there was a continuous progression in agricultural mechanization. In 1950, the inaugural agricultural tools and equipment exhibition took place at the Central Government location, coinciding with the establishment of the first Tractor Service Station in North China during the same year.
Source: Xu (1954), 32-33.
The introduction of tractors was modelled on Soviet agricultural practices. New “scientific” farming methods—such as the use of chemical fertilizers and close-planting techniques—were disseminated to local cadres through radio programs like 'Agricultural Science'. Listening stations carefully transcribed information relevant to their counties and either reproduced it in small printed bulletins or transmitted it directly to villages and cooperatives. In some cases, cadres from agricultural cooperatives were convened at large meetings where these new “scientific” techniques were formally presented and promoted.
Furthermore, the early stages of land reform saw the arrival of agricultural development experts who instructed Hainanese farmers on altering their farming techniques and crop selection to maximize land utilization. This initiative marked an unprecedented level of economic engagement between Hainan and the mainland. Plans to cultivate rubber trees materialized swiftly (see
However, during the 1950s, many of the more successful varieties were either foreign imports or had been selected or developed in China before 1949. For instance, 80% of the 95 improved rice varieties distributed between 1949 and 1958 were imported. Regarding other crops, 40% of the improved varieties distributed in North China in the 1950s were imported from Japan or Korea. In the 1930s and 1940s, most foreign potato varieties had their origins in the United States and Japan, while in the 1950s, they came from East Germany, the Soviet Union, and Poland.
Chinese farmers in the primary traditional agricultural regions possessed a profound understanding of pre-industrial agriculture. They effectively transmitted their techniques to less developed agricultural areas through research, extension services, and administrative initiatives. Notably, Chinese farmers utilized substantial amounts of organic fertilizers, often providing all essential nutrients (except for sufficient nitrogen) while maintaining organic content and structural properties. The long-standing tradition of judicious organic fertilizer use facilitated China's smooth transition to manufactured fertilizers and simplified the process of rapid agricultural growth. This was because, with complementary nutrients supplied by organic materials, the growth in the use of manufactured fertilizers could largely rely on nitrogen alone, considering that most nitrogen evaporated from China's primary organic fertilizer components. Other chemical fertilizers were too expensive to produce for a country with a very small industrial base.
The reliance on as the primary driver of growth is evident in the changing crop mix. Between 1952 and 1957, there was a shift toward crops with a higher yield value per unit of land; these crops are -intensive, requiring more per acre than others. These include paddy, potatoes, cotton, tobacco, sugarcane, sugar beet, and rapeseed, among others. The increase in the sown area was also primarily a result of land reclamation, which partly contributed to the expansion of cultivated area, was possible only through the extensive use of ferlizers. Similarly, multiple cropping depended not only on the availability of water, fertilizer, farm animals, and favourable climatic conditions but also on the availability of during certain short periods of the year.
In the 1950s, China had not yet fully grasped the concept of scientific and technological development in agriculture. Agricultural engineers were often more aligned with roles like mechanical engineers, civil engineers, biologists, and botanists working within the agricultural sector. These professionals were few in number and primarily concentrated in agricultural colleges and research institutes. Due to insufficient funding and manpower, the advancement and dissemination of agricultural technology lagged behind, with much of the cutting-edge knowledge remaining confined to research institutes, despite the existence of established networks.
The Ministry of Agriculture had numerous experimental stations across the country, but most were inadequately equipped and staffed to conduct significant research, with some lacking research programs entirely. In the livestock sector, nearly all animal production stations functioned merely as livestock farms, providing sires for local farmers and, in the case of cattle stations, offering draft animals for loan to farmers to reduce the government's feeding costs while the animals worked in the fields. Veterinary stations mainly focused on producing vaccines and treating sick animals.
Pietz (2015). Page 246
In the 1950's, the problem of floods in China, was more serious than that of droughts and China’s irrigation investment was mainly targeted at exploiting surface water resource.
Scranton (2019). "...,2.2 million rotated through first phase labor assignments, which Zeng (Shan, the superintendent of the huge Huai River Improvement complex) claimed “utilize[d] neither conscription nor employment.” Instead, project managers classified these workers as “public supervisors” on projects yielding long-term benefits they and their districts would enjoy. Positioned between being volunteers and victims, they did earn collective piecework awards (hence were “not entirely unpaid”), even as regional agricultural labor shortages blossomed in their absence....Equally, they saved the state budget billions of yuan by not paying wages comparable to those offered elsewhere in construction. 17" Pages 52-53
00-07-1950 Remarks by Mao Zedong on the Comprehensive Solution for the Huai River. July to September . From August 25 to September 12 1950, under the direct guidance of Zhou Enlai, the Ministry of Water Resources convened a conference on the management of the Huai River. This conference specifically implemented Mao Zedong's instructions on the management of the Huai River, established a combined approach of water storage and drainage, and formulated concrete steps for its management. This conference marked the beginning of the Huai River management initiative.Jia (2021). "The great rivers in China are prone to flood and drought disasters because of their unique natural geographical environment. For example, the Yellow River is the sandiest river in the world. Due to the silting-up of the river bed, the channel often breaks and changes course over the North China Plain, affecting a scope of more than 1,000 km scope from Tianjin in the north by the Bohai Sea to Yancheng in the south by the Yellow Sea with frequent and harmful floods." Page 3
Example of Inaccuracy: For example, a Xinhuanet "Internal Reference" (內部參考) report from issue No. 261, 1954, stated that in the spring and summer of that year, 209 people starved to death in Jianli County, Hubei Province, due to severe shortage of food supplies. A total of more than 3,200 people in the whole county died of starvation and disease between July $\sim$ October. However, the statistic in the table (which is a nationwide, full-year count) only records 475 non-normal deaths for the entire country in 1954. The death figures presented in the table are likely significant undercounts due to issues with the original statistical reporting method. No page number
08-02-1952 GAC Decisions on Drought Prevention and Mitigation Fan (2013). "Each year, approximately 67,000 to 133,000 hectares were reclaimed, totaling 743,000 hectares of new land. During this period, agricultural production saw significant growth: total grain production increased by 71.2%, oilseed production by 75.84%, and cotton production grew by 6.05 times. Due to the backwardness of agricultural technology, this development mainly relied on expanding the cultivated area. This period also marked the establishment of military reclamation farms. Starting in 1950, the Xinjiang Military District of the People's Liberation Army, in addition to suppressing rebellions and eliminating bandits, began reclaiming land and sowed 56,000 hectares of crops that year. By 1952, the cultivated area had expanded to 107,000 hectares, and in 1954, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps of the PLA was established….The reclamation efforts were mainly focused on the northern and southern routes of the Tianshan Mountains, with the northern route centering on the Urumqi River, Manas River, and Kuitun River basins, and the southern route on the Kaidu River, Peacock River, and Aksu River basins." Page 714
"Since 1949, for the purposes of raising iron and steel output with backward skills and increasing the output of grain by reclaiming forested land, the process of deforestation continued for almost three decades. For example, in just one area of the northeast part of China, the Changbai Mountains Region, over 30 logging bureaus were set up after 1949, and about 10 million m3 of industrial logs flowed out of the Region every year." Page 9
Li (2014). "In 1952, China successfully developed the lapinized attenuated vaccine, which played a key role in controlling and eliminating cattle plague. Cattle plagues were completely eliminated throughout China from 1956, and the vaccine was used for several years afterward to ensure eradication was permanent." Page 91
Forestry
Directive of the GAC regarding forestry work throughout the country. April. 14, 1950.
Directive of the Ministry of Forestry and Land Reclamation regarding the spring afforestation. March 20, 1950.
Directive of the Ministry of Forestry and Land Reclamation on afforestation in North China, the Northwest, and other areas during the rainy season. May 26, 1950.
Directive of the Ministry of Forestry and Land Reclamation regarding forestry work for the autumn and winter. September 30, 1950.
Decision of the GAC on the agricultural and forestry production for 1951. February 2, 1951.
Directive of the GAC regarding the strict prohibition of the burning of wasteland or reclaimed land, in order to prevent forest fires. March 17, 1951.
Directive of the GAC on practicing economy in the use of wood. August. 13, 1951.
Directive of the MOF regarding the 1952 spring afforestation project. February 16, 1952.
04-03-1952 Instructions of the Government Council on Strictly Preventing Forest Fires Directive of the MOF regarding forest protection and fire prevention. March 2, 1953.
Provisional measures of the MOF governing the unified distribution and supply of lumber throughout the country. January 8, 1954.
Water conservation
Directive of the GAC regarding the spring 1950 water conservation construction project. March 20,1950.
Supplementary directive of the Ministry of Water Conservancy regarding the spring construction project. April 27, 1950.
14-10-1950 The decision of the GAC on the governance of the Huaihe River Directive of the GAC on strengthening the work of flood prevention. June 8, 1951.
Directive of the Central Flood Prevention General Headquarters regarding the work of flood prevention. July 25, 1951.
Joint directive of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Conservancy on strengthening the work of irrigation management. July 12, 1951.
25-01-1952 Measures for the Division of and Responsibility for Railway Rivers and Dams 08-02-1952 GAC Decisions on Drought Prevention and Mitigation Decision of the GAC regarding the 1952 water conservation project. March. 21, 1952.
Directive of the Central Flood Prevention General Headquarters regarding the 1952 flood prevention project. June 20, 1952.
06-05-1953 Central Flood Control Headquarters Instructions on Flood Control in 1953