In 1995, 19-year-old Jiang Huazhen first stepped into the Shennongjia Nature Reserve. Living in wooden plank houses, hiking deep into the mountains, cooking over an open flame — she went from clumsy apprentice to capable protector. The sealed specimens she made in 2012 remain perfectly preserved after ten years, hailed as “technically superb.” Today, the 21,232 mu (about 1,415 hectares) of forest she patrols bears the imprint of her steadfast footsteps. Over thirty years, this second-generation forest worker has turned youth into story. “In Shennongjia,” she says, “every moment is a blessing, and every inch of time is filled with contentment.”
When I stepped into the bushes wearing my Jiefang brand green shoes, I realized that patrolling was not just about walking in the forest. Sharp tree branches cut my palms, moss made the stone steps wet and slippery, and the bruises on my knees are the "medals" given to me by the mountains.
“Isn’t patrol as easy as hill hiking?”, “Patrol is actually a little tiring”, “Don’t wanna patrol again.” All these monologues embodied my changing attitude towards the hardships of forest rangers from initial unbelief to true empathy with them after my first joint patrol since I joined Shennongjia National Park over a year ago.
On the desk of the forest chief's office in Shennongjia National Park, we unexpectedly saw a stack of light blue notebooks with the words "Mountain Patrol Record Book" written on their covers, so we took them over and looked through them. It is the work log of the Banqiao Management and Conservation Center of the Shennongding Management Administration of Shennongjia National Park. The name of the book had been used from 2017 to 2022, and then changed to "Forest Chief Patrol Record Book".
After I scanned a few pages, it stunned and touched me a lot that the 7-year consecutive working records were all finished by Chen Xiaobing himself alone, even with no interruption, which immediately enkindled my respect.
For decades, Qiu Changhong has made the mountains his home and the forests his constant companions. From the highest-altitude Houzishi Protection Station to the remote Dongxi Management Office at the edges of his jurisdiction, to the Yunpan Conservation Center located in an uninhabited area, he continues to stand guard at the frontlines of the Sanduihe Management & Conservation Center. Day after day, year after year, he measures these mountains and waters with his footsteps, dedicating his life to safeguarding this vast ocean of forests.