By Zhang Tie, Zhang Danhua, People’s Daily
The Qinling Mountains in northwest China’s Shaanxi province are a natural boundary between China’s north and south in terms of geology, climate, biodiversity, water systems, and soil types.
The unique geographic environment creates abundant moisture, and the rugged terrain harbors rich plant and animal resources, earning the Qinling Mountains the nickname “China’s Central Park” and establishing them as a crucial ecological barrier for the country.
In recent years, ecological protection and restoration of the Qinling Mountains has maintained a priority of Shaanxi province.
“There appears to be waste dumping in the east of Liyuanpo village in Shijing neighborhood,” an alert popped up on the screen of a digital comprehensive monitoring platform for the Qinling Mountains of Huyi district of Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province.
Staff member Zhao Na immediately contacted Mao Juan, a local grid officer: “Drones have captured footage, and AI analysis has detected unauthorized dumping.”
In less than an hour, Mao arrived at Liyuanpo village. Upon investigation, she learned that a villager had been renovating his house and had dumped construction waste by the roadside.
She promptly took photos for evidence, uploaded them from her phone, and informed the neighborhood office. After the area was cleared by the following morning, Mao revisited the site, verified the cleanup, and uploaded the update to the platform.
The ecological protection area of the Qinling Mountains covers six districts and counties in Xi’an, accounting for about 55 percent of the city’s total area. The rapid handling of issues like this is a result of an integrated ecological monitoring and protection system for the Qinling Mountains.
The system includes satellites that provide periodic remote sensing images, drones that conduct routine patrol flights, cameras offering real-time monitoring, and 1,240 dedicated grid officers carrying out inspections.
“With this system, countless ‘eyes’ help us protect every ridge and valley of the Qinling Mountains,” said Lei Bo, director of the technology and grid management department of the Xi’an municipal bureau of Qinling ecological environment protection.
From January to August this year, the platform autonomously identified and processed 2,480 cases involving unauthorized construction and dumping. Most cases were resolved within one to three days.
In recent years, Xi’an has continuously improved the systems and mechanisms for regular and long-term protection of the Qinling Mountains. The approach combines human surveillance with technology-based monitoring, and grid-based management with networked coordination, making protection efforts more targeted and intelligent.
Now, the entire landscape can be visualized on a single map, which shows forests, rivers, buildings, and mineral distributions, creates a digital model of the Qinling Mountains.
Each village has its own grid, with at least one grid officer, which forms a four-tiered management system from the municipal level down to villages.
Municipal- and district-level platforms, as well as several industry-specific platforms have been integrated, enabling information sharing and seamless data exchange to form a unified digital supervision system for the Qinling Mountains.
“We can detect even the smallest fire, down to a single lighter, thanks to the integration of thermal, smoke, and light sensors,” said Hua Yiping, director of the Qinling ecological protection and comprehensive law enforcement bureau of Huyi district. The digital monitoring platform now extends to multiple applications, including forest fire prevention, flood control, water quality monitoring, and geological disaster monitoring.
Currently, the populations of wild plants and animals in the Qinling Mountains are steadily increasing, with 99.3 percent of the Qinling area within Shaanxi province now rated as having an excellent ecological environment.
“In the future, we will continue to enhance the automation, intelligence, and precision of Qinling’s protection measures. We aim to refine our monitoring systems and ensure thorough, dynamic inspections and remediation,” said Li Bo, deputy director of the Xi’an municipal bureau of Qinling ecological environment protection.
A staff member sends a drone for an ecological patrol to the Qinling Mountains in Lintong district of Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi province. (Photo from Xi’an Daily)
Photo shows the Qinling Zhongnanshan UNESCO Global Geopark in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi province. (Photo by Wang Xiaofeng/People’s Daily Online)
Photo shows a digital comprehensive monitoring platform for the Qinling Mountains of Huyi district of Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. (Photo from the official account of the cyberspace administration of Xi’an on WeChat)
“空天地人”一体守护秦岭生态
人民日报记者 张 铁 张丹华
秦岭是中国南北地质、气候、生物、水系、土壤等地理要素的天然分界线。独特的地理环境造就了充沛水汽，崇山峻岭中蕴藏着丰富的动植物资源，使秦岭素有”国家中央公园”之称，是中国重要的生态屏障。
近年来，陕西省把秦岭生态环境保护和修复工作摆上重要位置。
“石井街道栗园坡村东，疑似有废弃物堆放。”陕西省西安市鄠邑区数字秦岭综合监管平台，屏幕上跳出”警报”。
工作人员赵娜立刻联系该区域网格员毛娟：”无人机巡航传回画面，经人工智能识别，发现乱排乱放问题。”
不到一个小时，毛娟就赶到了栗园坡村。经了解，有村民装修房屋，将废弃物堆放在路边。她立即拍照取证，用手机上传，并通知所属街道办。次日上午清理完毕后，毛娟再次来到现场，核验后上传平台，完成问题处置全流程。
西安市秦岭生态保护区涉及6个区县，约占全市面积的55%。问题快速处置，得益于”空天地人”一体的秦岭生态环境监测保护系统。
卫星定期传回遥感画面，无人机日常巡飞，摄像头实时监测，1240名专（兼）职网格员值守巡查……”‘空天地人’一体，无数’眼睛’替我们看护秦岭的沟沟梁梁。”西安市秦岭生态环境保护管理局科技信息和网格化管理处处长雷波说。
今年前8月，针对乱搭乱建、乱排乱放等问题线索，平台自主发现、流转处置2480条，一般1至3天即可办结。
近年来，西安不断健全秦岭常态化、长效化保护体制机制，人防、技防配合，网格化、网络化协同，秦岭保护正在变得更精确、更智能。
”一张图”看山——山林河流、房屋建筑、矿产分布……多类数据一图统揽，形成秦岭”数字沙盘”。
”一张网”护山——一村建立一网格、配备至少一名网格员，形成市、区县、镇街、村4级网格管理体系。
”一平台”管山——整合市级平台、6个区县平台、若干行业平台，信息共享、数据互通，形成数字秦岭综合监管”大平台”。
”热感、烟感、光感配合，一个打火机点着都能感知。”鄠邑区秦岭生态环境保护和综合执法局局长滑益平说，数字秦岭综合监管平台的应用逐渐扩展到森林防火、防汛减灾、水质监测、地灾监测等多场景。
目前，秦岭野生动植物种群数量不断增加，秦岭陕西段生态环境优良等级面积达99.3%。
“未来，我们将不断提升秦岭保护自动化、智能化、精准化水平，完善监管体系，做好动态排查整治。”西安市秦岭生态环境保护管理局副局长李博说。
