The Saihan Tower is surrounded by trees at Saihanba forest farm in Chengde, Hebei province. MU YU/XINHUA

　　When Song Zhanfeng returned to the forest in Wangyedian, a State-owned forest farm in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, he wasn"t thinking about carbon sinks, regional forestry cooperation or sustainable forest management.

　　He was thinking about whether mushrooms would grow, and whether anyone would buy them.

　　A former worker at the forest farm, Song had struggled after leaving his job during earlier reforms. In 2021, when the farm encouraged him to try growing red pine mushrooms under the canopies, he hesitated. Years of setbacks in business had made him wary of another loss-making venture.

　　The forest farm responded with two guarantees: free technical guidance and help connecting growers with purchasers. It also offered rent-free land use in the first year, while the local government provided subsidies for the under-forest economy.

　　A year later, Song planted some 1.3 hectares of mushrooms. He recovered 140,000 yuan ($20,600) in costs and earned 100,000 yuan in profit. Based on later production conditions, his annual income was estimated at 200,000 yuan.

　　Forest workers patrol the Dashui forest farm in Baokang, Hubei province, on July 13. YANG TAO/FOR CHINA DAILY

　　He then expanded cultivation by another 2 hectares and became a forest ranger, promoter and technician, helping other villagers understand how income generation and forest protection can reinforce each other.