About 140 volunteers from the Beijing-based Green Home Organization planted 500 trees along the Yellow River near the Hukou Waterfall today to launch the beginning of a series of environmental tourism activities in north China's Shanxi Province.

The Yellow River is the second longest river in China after the Yangtze, and its basin is regarded as the birthplace of Chinese civilization.

The Yellow River has been running dry for longer periods in recent years due to ecological deterioration.

Among the volunteers, the oldest was more than 70 years, the youngest only eight. Many of the volunteers are Chinese and foreign journalists and experts working in Beijing.

The Green Home Organization is a non-government environmental protection organization sponsored mainly by Beijing journalists.