The majestic Qinling Mountains are the ancestral lifeline of China. New-quality productive forces (NQPF) infuse technological momentum into ecological conservation, while digital tools provide solid support for safeguarding lucid waters and lush mountains. On the morning of Sept. 24, the “Dual Wings Enablement · New Vision of Chang’an”-themed Exchange Event for Dialogue between Cities of 2026 was held at the General Qinling Protection Station in Huyi District, Xi’an City to explore on site the province’s first district/county-level intelligent management and protection platform for the Qinling Mountains and experience firsthand the governance effectiveness of “Digital Qinling, Intelligent Mountain Management”.
Nestled against lush green mountains, the General Qinling Protection Station in Huyi, Xi’an is located at the northern foot of the Qinling. As Shaanxi Province’s first Qinling protection institution integrating warning education, conservation research, and intelligent control, it serves as a digital hub of Xi’an for protecting the Qinling ecological barrier. Relying on the round-the-clock monitoring system, it weaves a sophisticated ecological protection network across the Qinling Mountains.
At the control center, a giant high-definition screen continuously displays real-time surveillance footage covering the entire Huyi section of the northern Qinling foot, and an electronic sand table fully presents massive information including the distribution of valley entrances, mountain and forest landforms, forest resources, and river-lake water systems. Guided by an interpreter, the visiting delegation gained detailed insights into the platform’s operational model, AI-based intelligent recognition and early warning, drone patrol dispatch, and the full workflow of closed-loop handling by grid inspectors.
According to introduction, as the “smart brain” of Qinling protection, the general station integrates various types of massive data to establish an “air-space-ground” three-dimensional supervision system. To address the problem of blind spots in mountain patrols, it leverages monitoring points, drones, and automated airports, in collaboration with full-time grid inspectors, the “Qinhuwei” Volunteer Alliance, and non-government forest chiefs, to build a management and protection pattern of “grid-based mountain patrols, intelligent mountain management, and all-people participation in mountain protection”. The platform can automatically identify the potential hazards of the “five violations”, issue early warnings with one click, and quickly dispatch personnel to handle them, achieving early detection and prompt handling of risks and thereby making ecological management and protection traceable, visible, and controllable.
Moreover, the General Qinling Protection Platform of Huyi District, Xi’an breaks down data silos among multiple departments, enabling information sharing and intercommunication among natural resources, emergency management, forestry, and local sub-districts. When the system detects anomalies, it automatically generates work orders and routes them to corresponding grid inspectors or local sub-districts according to territorial jurisdiction. From early warning issuance and on-site verification to problem handling and result feedback, a complete closed-loop management process is established. This truly enables cross-departmental coordination and significantly enhances both efficiency and accuracy in handling issues related to the Qinling Mountains. The efficient and smooth digital handling chain lays a solid operational foundation for the new pattern of Qinling ecological management.
Technology enables the protection of ancestral lifeline, and digital tools build a shield to safeguard the lush mountains. The General Qinling Protection Station in Huyi District, Xi’an has established a “supervision + research + warning” three-in-one protection pattern. By utilizing the intelligent platform, it drives the transformation of Qinling management and protection towards digitization and refinement, exploring replicable paths for safeguarding the ecological barrier at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains.