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A project to cover the outskirts of Beijing with greenery to reduce pollution is about to end, despite delays caused by snowfall in November.

More than 40,000 trees will have been planted over 66.7 hectares in northwestern Yanqing county by the end of this month, concluding the capital's 250-sq-km afforestation project. By the end of 2012, a total of 1,533 hectares of barren land is expected to be transformed with green plants.

The recent snowfall, the largest in 52 years, severely held up the afforestation project said Wang Shuqin, deputy director of the county's landscape and forestry bureau.

The snow did not pose a threat to the majority of trees already planted, with the bureau saying the survival rate was about 95 percent.

But it damaged more than 4 million trees, including some 160 ancient ones, according to the forestry bureau.

Of the damaged trees, which were mainly found in residential communities, parks and on major roads, more than 3 million had fallen, Wang said.

Wang said the afforestation project on the northwestern outskirts is of great importance, as northwestern winds blowing into the capital in winter usually bring sand and dust to downtown areas.

Pagoda trees and grass act as a protective shield for the city from dust and sand. They will greatly reduce the pollution from neighboring cities that threatens the capital's air quality.

According to the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, 24.5 percent of PM2.5 - particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter - comes from neighboring provinces.

The bureau also said plants that have just gone into the ground are expected to prevent as much as 2.1 metric tons of dust from entering Beijing.

Wang Qiuxia, a researcher at Green Beagle, an environmental non-governmental organization, said greenery will also reduce the chances of people developing heart and breathing conditions and even lung cancer.

Questions:

1. How many hectares of barren land is expected to be transformed by the end of 2012?

2. How many trees were damaged by the snow?

3. What will the greenery help reduce?

Answers:

1. 1553.

2. 4 million.

3. The chances of people developing heart and breathing conditions and even lung cancer.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.