Handing out brochures on country roads and posting banners in public places, staff members of the environmental protection bureau, agricultural bureau and animal husbandry bureau of Acheng district in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, have recently been promoting the prohibition of straw burnings.

As there is a tradition in rural areas to burn straw after autumn harvest and bury the ashes in the ground as fertilizer, local governments have made public ads on TVs and official websites. They also arranged officials to leave their offices to detect straw-burning cases in the field.

To raise farmer awareness of environmental protection, schools in rural areas also opened a stop straw-burning class and asked students to deliver environmental protection materials to their parents.

The supervision brigade of the Acheng environmental protection bureau will put out fires if they discover farmers burning cornstalks in fields.

Residents are encouraged to report straw-burning cases through the 12369 hotline.