Song Chen and Song Bao are forest rangers stationed at the Mangshan Mountain Watchtower at the Beijing Ming Tombs Forest Farm Management Office. Their duty is to guard the watchtower and look after the national key public welfare forest within the surrounding area of more than 13,000 mu (867 hectares).

A few years ago, Song Chen and Song Bao, who lived in Yixian county, Baoding,Hebei province, came to the watchtower to work. They were friends from the same village since childhood, and now they are partners in the forest.

Working on the mountain, they take turns riding electric bikes down the mountain to purchase vegetables, food and other living materials. Besides work, TV and mobile phones are the main ways for the two rangers to relieve their loneliness. Since it is located in a scenic area, they are also happy to chat with occasional tourists.

As a multifunctional forest management demonstration forest farm, the Ming Tombs Forest Farm not only has jurisdiction over the Ming Tombs and the Juyong Pass section of the Great Wall, two world cultural heritage sites, but also more than 30 tourist attractions such as the Gouya Natural Scenic Area and the Mangshan National Forest Park.

A lush green barrier, the shallow mountain-shaped landforms that belong to the Ming Tombs area are also home to many animals. The plains in front of the mountains provide animals with rich and diverse nutrition, and the varied topography provides them with hidden living spaces.

In recent years, although the fire prevention situation in the State-owned forest area of the Ming Tombs Forest Farm has been stable, due to the influence of climate and other factors, the fire prevention situation is still severe. For the two forest rangers, they must not be slack in the slightest, and must always be on the frontline of forest fire prevention to ensure the safety of forest resources.

Whether it is protecting the mountains or promoting fire prevention, they both enjoy it. After being hired as forest rangers, the two have traveled all over the forest area, memorizing the geographical features, landscape and tree species.

It would be inaccurate to say that the work of a forest ranger is not hard, but they constantly improve their skills, and do their best to safeguard the forest.

The forest farm has also been active in organizing voluntary tree planting under the theme of "being a forest ranger for a day". The volunteering forest rangers spread the knowledge of forest fire prevention to tourists along the way. After reaching the platform on the top of the mountain, the forest farm issues a certificate of due diligence to those who have participated in this activity. After the one-day experience as a forest ranger, everyone realizes the hard work of a forest ranger. It is part of the campaign that responds to the national call for obligatory tree planting, love and protection for a greener world.

In order to better protect the "beautiful home of animals and plants" in the suburbs of Beijing, World Wildlife Fund and Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau cooperated in 2021 to jointly carry out the biodiversity conservation project of the Ming Tombs Forest Farm, which is based on the concept of the overall restoration of the leopard food chain in North China. Targeted protection measures and management models have been implemented. The forest farm aims to improve the environment, attract a variety of animals, establish healthier forest ecosystems and enhance the biodiversity, landscape, cultural and ecological values unique to the region.