Young rangers devoted to protecting forests in east China's Jiangxi

Photo shows Chen Liangliang (R), Zou Hongyan (C) and Tang Yong walking along a route at the Jiulingshan National Nature Reserve in Jing'an county, east China's Jiangxi province, March 18. (Photo/Xinhua)

Getting up at 7 a.m., Chen Liangliang began his day by trudging up a mountain in east China’s Jiangxi province to monitor animals and plants in the forest. Throughout the year, the man spends almost 150 days dedicated to the protection of green spaces.

Located in Jing'an county, the Jiulingshan Nature Reserve covers an area of 11,541 hectares. Qingshan station within the nature reserve, where Chen works, protects about 4,000 hectares of forest, with the longest forest route having a length of 24.7 kilometers.

"We’ve discovered protected animals such as Chinese mergansers, macaques, leopard cats and silver pheasants in the forest, which made me realize that my job is meaningful," said Chen, who has been a lover of wild animals and plants since his childhood and wants to become an expert in this field.

"We have learnt to enjoy solitude during our work," said 29-year-old Tang Yong, who started working at the remotest station on the reserve in 2017. Since there is no cell phone signal on the mountainside, Tang keeps himself occupied by reading a book about animals and plants during off-duty hours.

Before every patrol, Tang has to purchase daily necessities that can support him for a full duration of two weeks.

“I once spent more than half a year patrolling back and forth over 100 times along a 3-kilometer route to collect plant specimens, and now I can recognize common animals and plants in the forest,” the man said, believing that he is qualified to participate in the reserve’s research missions.

Zou Hongyan, a young woman responsible for nature education at the reserve, often offers children lessons in the forest with the hope of teaching them to respect and protect nature. "I am pleased to find out that, in these two years, they can recognize many plants and animals," said Zou.