Previous afforestation effort, much of which was accomplished with aerial seeding, restored Pinus massoniana Lamb. forests across more than 4 million ha of barren lands and difficult mountainous terrain in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, China. This manuscript provides a review of literature reporting the factors that led to forest and site degradation, conventional practices and techniques used to widely establish forest cover of P. massoniana, and post-sowing and plantation management practices used to encourage development and growth of restored P. massoniana forests. Factors known to impede successful seeding of P. massoniana include poor seed quality, harsh soil and site conditions such as soil erosion and droughty soil, unpredictable and extreme weather or climatic events including drought, frost, or excessive rainfall, and insufficient site preparation or plantation maintenance. Procuring high-quality seed, conducting thorough site assessments, and implementing practices that effectively mitigate factors that limit seed germination, seedling establishment, and tree growth are key to successful P. massoniana seeding.