State bans logging in a rare virgin forest

One of the mainland's last remaining virgin forest areas is to be protected from logging.

The State Forestry Administration announced it would prohibit any logging in a 946,000-hectare section of the famed Greater Xing'An Mountain range in Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang, Xinhua reported.

With tree cover of 95 per cent, the newly designated area is home to massive old-growth trees, including various species of juniper and birch.

The announcement comes as the nation's virgin forests continue to dwindle.

While the mainland's total forest cover is about 134 million hectares, or about 14 per cent of its overall land area, the majority is man-made, with virgin forests shrinking at a reported rate of 5,000 sq km a year.

Many of the nation's virgin forests are located in the 350,000 sq km Greater Xing'An Range.