From November 20 to 22, the 3rd Forest Resources Forum and the symposium entitled "Improving forest quality and helping the construction of a beautiful China", were held in Huitong County, Hunan Province. The conference was hosted by the Forest Resources Professional Committee of the Chinese Society of Natural Resources, and organised by Huitong Forest Ecosystem National Field Observation and Research Station (i.e., Huitong Forest Ecology Experimental Station of the Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, hereinafter referred to as Huitong Station), and Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory on Subtropical Forest Ecosystem Structure and Services. More than 70 experts and scholars from 23 universities and research institutes across China participated in this conference. The opening ceremony of the conference was presided over by Professor Wu Jiasheng, vice president of Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University. 

The conference coincided with the 60th anniversary celebrations of Huitong Station. At the conference, the participants watched a specially produced video about the history and development of Huitong Station. Prof. Wang Silong, head of Huitong Station spoke on behalf of the conference organizers, and reviewed the 60-year development course of the station. Sixty years ago, to increase China's forest reserve, the old generation of scientists at Huitong Station began to study fast-growing and high-yield Chinese fir, the most important timber forest in South China. "Through more than half a century of research, scientists at Huitong Station has successfully solved the theoretical and technical problems that have long plagued the sustainable management of subtropical plantations in our country. Nowadays, Huitong Station aims at the needs of national ecological security strategy, constantly adjusts discipline direction and goals, and has made new important progress in the research and upgrading of forest ecosystem service functions, and has provided important support for the overall improvement of forest quality," he said. 

Zhang Jianguo, director and professor of the Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Wang Huimin, member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Society of Natural Resources, chairman of the Forest Resources Professional Committee, and professor of the Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences delivered speeches at the opening ceremony of the conference. Zhang Jianguo said that Huitong Forest Station was one of the earliest field stations for forest research in China, and it is a good role model for other forest research stations. Since its establishment 60 years ago, it has continued to grow and develop, and has made outstanding contributions to the development of China's forest ecology and forest silviculture disciplines. Wang Huimin said that the older generation of scientists worked hard at Huitong Station for decades and their spirit of innovation contributed greatly to the establishment and development of Huitong Station. "The spirit inheritance is of great significance to the development of forest resources sciences and to the growth of the new generation of scientists," he said. 

At this conference, a total of 17 scholars and graduate students gave talks or presented posters. Prof. Zhang Jianguo delivered a keynote talk. These talks and posters mainly focuses on the origin, dynamics and silviculture of important forest types such as Chinese fir, Masson pine, Moso bamboo, Chinese yew, as well as on forest plant development and utilization, forest tourism resource evaluation and optimization, forest resource dynamic monitoring methods and technologies, reflecting the latest progress in forest resources sciences. 

In order to encourage the growth of young talents, the Forest Resources Professional Committee awarded “Excellent Talk Awards” to six postgraduate students. During the conference, the number of the Professional Committee members was expanded to 66 through an additional voting procedure, indicating the continuous development and growth of the Forest Resources Professional Committee.