Green Guard Xiao Chuanhua: Perseverance in Mission
Updated：2023-12-18 Source：Shennongjia National Park
On November 22, 2023, the weather was sunny. When returning to our place from the Yunpan Management and Conservation Center, we decided to go to the Shennongding Management and Conservation Center in the afternoon to experience the life in high mountains. The Shennongding Center is the highest conservation center in the Shennongjia National Park, where Xiao Chuanhua, Shennongjia’s first winner of the “Green Guard” award of the Chinese Biosphere Reserves Network (CBRN), was trained. The center is in charge of the core area of the Shennongjia National Park, and its team is in the front line and is the home of an elite group of rangers.
At dinnertime, we sat down around a stove table. All conservation centers in the Shennongjia National Park are fully equipped with the table. The table has an electromagnetic stove above which there is a piece of stone or iron board. The food on it does not get cold for a long time. Singing and laughing, we sat around together like a family. We trimmed vegetables and cooked dinner, feeling happy. We brought some pot-stewed food and a chicken from the bottom of the mountain and joined the conservation center team for a “sumptuous” meal. Being a good cook, Mr. Zhao Baoshan made several delicious dishes in a short time.
Xiao Chuanhua's wife, who worked for Shennongjia Tourism Company, also joined us for the dinner that night. She had already eaten dinner at the company canteen. At our kind invitation, she took a few bites of the dinner. We could see that the couple were very much in love and worked well together, supporting and understanding each other.
Fire is the test of gold, and adversity is the test of the strong
More than ten cottages were lined up in a deep ravine going from the Golden Monkey Ridge. Not known where it goes, a gurgling stream just flows into the distance without hesitation. It is just like Xiao Chuanhua and his comrades, who concentrate only on guarding the mountain, which bears on the development of the country and the people’s welfare. It is worthwhile for them to spend a lifetime to do so.
Our car stopped at the gate of the center. As we got out in turn, we immediately felt a blast of cold air that made us shiver. Taking a few steps forward, we were surprised to see a thick layer of snow and ice on the ground in front of the cottages. It had snowed in Shennongjia in October. Looking around, we found that the surrounding mountains had turned white, and there was frozen snow remaining all around the house.
The ranger Mr. Zhao invited us to have tea in a house with a fire, but we didn’t go inside. Instead, we observed the surroundings in haste.
The snow and Chinese crab apples, a kind of plants growing at high altitudes, on both sides of the stream indicated that this was a high-altitude area. They reach out to the other side of the stream, holding each other’s hands to pass on love and warmth. It was in the uninhabited area of Daqianjiaping in Guanmenshan that I first saw the Chinese crab apples, this kind of dense bush is suitable for high altitude. In addition, the Bashan firs and conifers indicate that the Shennongding Center is located in a high-altitude area.
Xiao Chuanhua(First right) in his youth patrolling with his former colleagues Those who work in Shennongding area have to “enjoy” the cold for at least two extra months every year. When the weather is autumn and the chrysanthemums have come into bloom under the mountain, it is freezing cold and has snows at the top of the mountain; when spring is coming, and spring thunder booms under the mountain, the ice and snow have not yet melted and you can still feel the cold at the top. At the coldest time of year, the temperature is as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius, with snow piled up to the knees. However, in this extreme climate, Xiao Chuanhua and his comrades still persevere with their patrol task, moving across the vast snowfield of the southern forest, doing the same hard work as rangers in the northern forest.
Xiao(Left) measuring a tree in a diversity investigationXiao Chuanhua said: “Actions bring results. Located on the roof of central China, the Shennongding Center is responsible for the management and conservation of more than 130,000 mu. The area is large, the altitudes are varied, the environment is complex, and the weather is changeable, making the place difficult to live in. The area includes alpine, subalpine and low mountain zones and has scenic spots, communities, and uninhabited land. It is also the home to the golden snub-nosed monkey, a flagship species of national-level protected animals, a key area for biodiversity conservation, a preferred destination for tourists, and also an essential route for community residents. Ecological protection is a heavy task, and forest protection and fire prevention are difficult.” Xiao Chuanhua and his team lived in the mountains and stayed by the stream all the year round. They devote themselves to their ordinary work and make it a success. 23 years, including 8,395 days and nights, pass very quickly. The mountains, valleys, and gullies have seen the sweat of Xiao Chuanhua and his comrades’ brow.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way
In the afternoon of August 20, 2022, a fire broke out in a place in the region due to the prolonged drought. After receiving the urgent message on the fire, Xiao Chuanhua and Liu Peng, the head of the Yinyu River Management and Conservation Center, arrived at the scene of the fire in time. As there was a limit to the height at which drones could fly, the Administration was unable to observe the fire and had to send the vanguard to the site to take in the situation. The head of the fire prevention office asked Xiao Chuanhua, “Can you go? Is there any problem?” Without hesitation, Xiao Chuanhua firmly replied, “No problem, I’m sure I can fulfill the task.”
It was dark, and the road was slippery. Xiao Chuanhua and his colleague trudged along the dramatic cliffs in the direction of the fire. After an hour, they reached the fire and immediately relayed the information to the front command headquarters. That night, he dared not to close his eyes for a moment, worrying about the fire. Four hours later, emergency personnel arrived one after another. They fought the blaze with the reinforcement team throughout the night, and succeeded in keeping the fire under control. During the course of the action, Xiao Chuanhua who was suffering from chronic pancreatitis felt pancreatic pain over three times. Each time the pain came, he would take a pill.
Xiao Chuanhua is very modest. When we congratulated him on being awarded the “Green Guard” title, he said very calmly: “This title was awarded to honor and encourage all the rangers, and the work done by each generation of rangers has been the same. Therefore, this honor should belong to all the rangers of the Shennongjia National Park.”
Indeed, each ranger of the Shennongjia National Park has their own extraordinary experience, and each is worthy of people’s respect.
Since he started working, Xiao Chuanhua has never asked for annual leave. Due to the heavy responsibility and his busy schedule, he devoted all his energy to work and paid scant attention to his family and children. While enduring the pain of separation, his wife has to juggle work with family.
For 23 years, Xiao Chuanhua has been shuttling between Shennongding, which is at the highest altitude, and Dongxi, the most remote place. From 2001 to 2011, Xiao Chuanhua worked at the Dongxi Management Office (now the Dongxi Management and Conservation Center). During the decade, like a recluse, he buried himself in the forest, companion to the trees and gurgling streams, cut off from his friends, and paid rare visits to his family. On the night of May 18, 2003, Xiao Chuanhua and his colleagues were sleeping in tents used for remote patrols when he heard that his daughter had a sudden attack of acute appendicitis and had been rushed to hospital overnight for surgery. His wife was taking care of her daughter alone and didn’t close her eyes throughout the night. Looking dishevelled, he rushed to the hospital. Despite tears in her eyes, his wife did not complain. Instead, she brushed the pine needles and weeds off Xiao Chuanhua’s shoulders.
Xiao Dispatching leaflet to pessengers on a bussAt that time, Xiao Chuanhua volunteered to work in Dongxi, the most remote place. In Dongxi, the roads were bad and there was no public transportation. When commuting between his home and the center, there was only one section where he could take a lumber truck, and he had to walk for the rest of the way.
He has worked in Dongxi for more than 10 years. During his stay, he has guarded the green mountains and clear waters with all his heart, “the sky serving as a roof, and the ground as a bed”. He stopped others from catching animals, faced several risks, and was injured many times. His injuries, caused by iron clamps and wire mesh, are still clearly visible.
In 2016, when the Administration of Shennongjia National Park was established, Xiao Chuanhua was assigned to the Shennongding Center and was still responsible for protecting natural resources. He and his colleagues opened new patrol routes every year, which covered every corner of the region, recording species, monitoring vegetation, rescuing animals, coming over to people’s houses for publicity, and stopping illegal acts. He carried maps in his head, mountains and rivers under his feet, and responsibility on his shoulders.
Thinking of the past, the couple are content with what they have: their child has gone to college; although they live in a dormitory, at least they’re not separated.
Xiao Chuanhua is already over 50 years old, but he more cherishes and loves his job as a forest ranger. Why? We found the answer in one of his reports: “General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the National Conference of Ecological Environment Protection that ‘environment is part of people’s livelihood; green mountains are tantamount to beauty, and blue sky brings happiness, so we should cherish the ecological environment as we cherish our eyes and treat it as we treat life.’ As a watchman and guardian of the national park, I always bear in mind the General Secretary’s earnest instructions, and ecological environment protection is high on my list of priorities…”
Xiao fixing an infrared cameraLater we learned that Xiao Chuanhua had better career choices, but he had given up. He chose with determination to stay in the deep mountains, the most difficult place. He said: “I have stayed here for a lifetime. I have developed an intimate relationship with this mountain, so I can’t sever the relationship.”
Following the right path and innovation are a long-term and arduous task
Achievements belong to the past, and honor is an incentive. Xiao Chuanhua has his own definition of “Green Guard”, that is, one should always think of the national park, consciously follow their superiors’ instructions about ecological environmental protection, and actively guard the frontier in practice.
He said: “The Party committee has sketched a broad and beautiful painting of the Shennongjia National Park, which will be beautified by us. To beautify this painting, each brush should be filled with brilliant colors. In the future, I am willing to devote my time and energy to my work, making contributions to our capacity building and to creating an internationally renowned, domestically first-rate national park!”
Xiao Chuanhua is indifferent to fame and wealth. He seems very calm and sure of the future: implement the scientific management and protection measures and the forest chief system; work hard and adhere to the patrol system to ensure the quality and effectiveness of patrols and the safety of ecological resources; do a good job in forest fire prevention and ecological environment protection; continue to improve his skills and strengthen personal morality at the grass-roots level; take the lead in protecting the ecological environment; try to solve the difficulties encountered by rangers, share food and accommodation with his comrades, work together with them, be a positive role model for them, heighten the team’s sense of cohesion, and improve the team’s ability to execute plans.
Zhao Baoshan said that the five rangers of their center have to walk about 2,500 kilometers a year, spend more than 10 days a month in the wildness on foot, and carry tents and solid food on remote patrols, braving the wind and dew. Since Xiao Chuanhua is good at heightening his team’s sense of cohesion and treats the center as his home, he always takes care of each team member like a parent and guards the forest around them. There are not only primitive forest, waterfalls, and streams, but also poisonous snakes and beasts in Shennongding area. They trudged through the crisscrossing mountains and dense forests on foot, waded through the chilling river, and brushed off the leeches and pests on their legs. They kept moving on, going out early and coming back at dusk.
Early in July this year, as usual, the group went on a 10-day remote patrol along the patrol route by way of the Watchtower, Line 38, and Guanyin Cave. They recovered three infrared cameras and installed five ones. As it was summer, the plants monitored amounted to more than 60 species. While patrolling and monitoring, they talked and laughed, encouraging and cheering each other. On the 8th night, they set up tents and went in to have a rest when they heard some sounds outside. At first, they thought it was a beast. After going out, they found that a wild deer had fallen on a branch. They realized that it was injured at a glance. Xiao Chuanhua immediately brought emergency medicine prepared for patrols to bandage the deer. Because the injury was too severe, the deer was in a coma. Xiao Chuanhua decided to return to the center with the injured deer to rescue it. They rushed back to the rescue station at midnight. Fortunately, the deer under the good care of the rescue station returned to the forest half a month later. Their patrol was delayed because of the rescue. To complete the patrol task, they had to continue to go into the forest the next day…
巡护中充饥In Xiao Chuanhua’s view, he should persevere with his patrol task. He said that the purpose of patrols is not simply to walk a long distance, but to use your eyes to find out problems, and only by thinking hard, learning effectively, and putting your ideas into practice can you continuously improve the quality of patrols. Through short, remote, inspecting, joint, and linked patrols, the conservation center has established a patrol network connecting individuals and teams. As you can carry out aerial monitoring with drones, and use infrared cameras and electronic fence to take pictures in the forest, and field patrol by rangers, a three-dimensional network has been formed. Through forest management and protection and fire prevention, we can broaden our experience and achieve good results.
Fire protection is the top priority of the conservation center. To warn himself and others, Xiao Chuanhua always keeps five points in mind: remember to study how to protect forests and prevent fires at meetings; remember the responsibility for fire control and forest protection when assigning tasks; remember to observe fire precautions when running checks; remember to supervise fire prevention when going to the scenic area; remember to remind his colleagues about fire prevention before going out.
Xiao Chuanhua has been working hard in the past 20 years and has won several honors, such as “Model Worker”, “Wildlife Protection Award”, “Advanced Worker”, and “Green Guard”. He is indeed a loyal guardian who rises from the Shennong Peak, the roof of central China.
In order to encourage the frontline workers from members of the CBRN for their long-term contributions, to heighten their sense of responsibility and honor, to standardize outdoor equipment of the biosphere reserves, and to raise public awareness about the biosphere reserves, Chinese National Committee for Man and the Biosphere Programme, UNESCO set up the “Green Guard Award” of the CBRN in 2016. At present, the award has become an important and influential award in the field of nature conservation in China.(By Joseph Ma, Jessie Ning & Wang Ping)
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Address：36 Chulin Road, Muyu Town, Shennongjia Forestry District, Hubei Province 鄂ICP备18005077号-3
Address：36 Chulin Road, Muyu Town, Shennongjia Forestry District, Hubei Province 鄂ICP备18005077号-3
Email：2673990569@qq.com
Phone：0719-3453368
Phone：0719-3453368
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