According to the local natural resources and planning bureau, Huzhou is rich in construction-grade stones. Starting in the 1980s, the stone industry developed rapidly, turning grasslands and forests into barren quarries.

This led to the overexploitation of resources and threatened the local natural ecosystem.

Zhu Zhonghua, director of the ecosystem restoration unit of the Huzhou natural resources and planning bureau, says a dozen mine sites are expected to complete reclamation this year.

Since the early 2000s, more than 400 former mines have undergone some form of restoration, including about 2,100 hectares turned into farmlands and nearly 1,700 hectares seeded with trees and grass.

The Qishan Botanical Garden is one of the earliest reclamation projects in the city. Located in Huzhou's Changxing county, it was transformed from the former Xinmao stone quarry in 2004.