Thousands of Shenzhen people took to Wutong Mountain to help eradicate an exotic plant at the weekend.

Vice Mayor Lu Ruifeng led more than 1,000 urban management officers to the mountain Saturday (Nov. 28), after Mayor Li Hongzhong called for a "war of the people" against the South American climber in response to a letter from a pupil.

On Sunday, thousands of Shenzhen residents, including volunteers, went to Wutong Mountain to destroy the plant, the Shenzhen Evening News reported.

The South American climber, or mikania micrantha, which originates from Brazil, blankets other plants and kills them by robbing them of sunshine, water and even air.

On Wutong Mountain, the plant is mainly found in places where native vegetation had been destroyed. Officials called for better protection of the mountain, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

The plant, first found in Shenzhen in the 1980s, had covered about 600,000 square meters on Wutong Mountain, mainly at the foot of the mountain, the newspaper said. It had spread from the suburbs to urban areas and found a home in many parks and green belts, causing quite a lot of damage on Wutong Mountain, Shenzhen Reservoirs and Fairy Lake Botanical Garden, the newspaper said.

The weekend campaign was carried out by hand as there were no effective chemical herbicides, the Shenzhen Evening News said.

On Thursday, Mayor Li wrote instructions to authorities, in which he praised a pupil for her letter to him several days ago.

Zheng Jiamin, 8, a school pupil in Bao'an District, wrote to Li to say she was very sorry to see news reports about the spread of the South American climber. She advised the mayor to choose a day for the citizens to eradicate out the plant.

Li urged the media to mobilize the community in the fight against the plant.

Editor: Olivia