Editor's note: As protection of the planet's flora, fauna and resources becomes increasingly important, China Daily is publishing a series of stories to illustrate the country's commitment to safeguarding the natural world.

Until recently in the mountainous village of Yangjia in Fuping county, Shaanxi province, when it rained the water couldn't be absorbed by the barren soil there, so small gullies would be carved out of the mountainside and dirt roads would erode.

This would compound several issues faced by the remote village — a lack of fertile, absorbent soil, a lack of water and poor road and agricultural infrastructure.

Few trees on the mountainside to help fix the soil and mitigate erosion meant that a profitable agricultural industry was lacking for the villagers of Yangjia, and that the water that did fall in the area was lost, meaning that the resource was scarce for those who needed it most.

However, change came to the village in 2012 when the local government launched a program combining the prevention of soil erosion and the development of agriculture around the growing of persimmons.

As a result, the mountains in Yangjia have become populated by profitable persimmon trees.

The major beneficiaries of the program have been the local people and the environment.

While making the barren soil more fertile, the persimmon trees have also helped retain water.

The transformation in Yangjia is an example of how development and conservation don't necessarily contradict each other, but can actually be complementary.

As stressed by President Xi Jinping on many occasions, lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and the greening of the barren mountains in Yangjia has provided the momentum to environmentally and economically vitalize the rural community.

"In the past, when looking into the distance it was hard to see a single trace of greenery," recalled Yang Zhengchuan, a Yangjia village resident.