Deep in the jungle, couple keep watch over nature
Print Edition
Distant from the hustle and bustle of modern society, a lonely white lookout tower is nestled deep in the Saihanba mechanized forest farm. The three-story architecture is where ranger Liu Jun and his wife Wang Juan work and live.
Although having different job titles during their 23-year service in the farm in the northernmost part of north China鈥檚 Hebei Province, the duties of 51-year-old Liu and his wife remain unchanged: safeguarding the forests against fire hazards.
Since 2008, Liu and Wang have been tasked with early detection and timely reporting of potential fires by monitoring a designated scope of the forests in lookout towers.
Along with rangers in eight other towers perched on the top of peaks around the region, the couple serves as the 鈥渆yes鈥 of the 1.15 million-mu (77,000 hectares) lush forests, wide open to fire risks.
Even with new technologies, their role is still considered indispensable in the farm鈥檚 fire-control system and is supplementary to on-ground patrols, monitoring cameras, detecting radar and other measures.
鈥淒uring the time of heightened potential fire risks, we have to report the condition every 15 minutes to the authority in the daytime and every hour in the nighttime,鈥 said Liu.
Due to unbearable loneliness and hardship for rangers working and living in the towers, the work is usually assumed by married couples like Liu and Wang.
鈥淲hen it comes to lonely hours, we often miss our children and aged parents and cannot help but hold back bursting into tears.
鈥淗owever, we know that every other colleague in these towers and different positions is putting their heart and soul into their work and so should we,鈥 said Liu.
To the couple鈥檚 delight, days in the tower without adequate water, food or energy supply due to bad infrastructure have gone.
Even though remotely situated, now all lookout towers have good access to the Internet.
Thanks to forest ranger couples like Liu and Wang, the Saihanba forest farm has not witnessed a single fire accident for 59 consecutive years.
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