Wang Liuyang (right) and Xu Pan work in a watchtower for the Zhanhe Forest Bureau, a subsidiary of State-owned China Longjiang Forest Industry Group Co, in Heilongjiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Xu Pan can't remember how many times in the past months she climbed the 95 steps on a 24-meter-tall watchtower to keep an eye on the same woodland her relatives watched over in past decades.
As rangers at the Zhanhe Forest Bureau, a subsidiary of State-owned China Longjiang Forest Industry Group Co in Heilongjiang province, Xu and her husband Wang Liuyang work to protect forests and wildlife in a zone highly prone to forest fires.
Every year, the risk of forest fires becomes pronounced in two dry periods March 15 to June 15, and Sept 15 to Nov 15. During these times, rangers must remain at their posts, no matter what.
Wang Liuyang works at a watchtower of the Zhanhe Forest Bureau, a subsidiary of the State-owned China Longjiang Forest Industry Group Co, in Heilongjiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The watchtower where they work is a key location. In addition to keeping a watchful eye for fires, rangers are responsible for transferring information from a control room to 22 subordinate watchtowers and vice versa.
Xu is the second female ranger of the bureau; the first one was her mother-in-law Zhu Caiqin.
Zhu and her husband, Wang Xuetang, both chose jobs as forest rangers in 1988 and they were assigned to the same watchtower 9 kilometers from their home.
At the foot of the tower, a 12-square-meter room serves as the couple's dormitory, but they cannot go there in the event of a fire.
Wang Xuetang and Zhu Caiqin (right) work at a watchtower of the Zhanhe Forest Bureau, a subsidiary of the State-owned China Longjiang Forest Industry Group Co, in Heilongjiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
In 1992, Zhu's only child, Wang Liuyang was born. She took him along to the tower starting when he was 6 months old, as there was nobody to watch over him at home.
In 2004, Zhu was diagnosed with lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease. Her doctor asked her to focus on nutrition and to avoid fatigue and strong sunlight.
Her boss and colleagues advised her to choose a different post, perhaps one where the work would not be as tough and treating her disease would be easier. But she refused, saying the experience she had gained over the years would be wasted if she quit or looked for something less challenging.
Wang Liuyang climbs the stairs of his watchtower. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
In 2014, Wang Liuyang, now grown up, left his job in nearby Jilin province to return to his hometown as a watchtower ranger some 30 kilometers from his parents' workplace. After marrying him in 2016, Xu chose to work beside him.
Zhu retired in 2018 and Wang Xuetang continued in his position. In spring this year, the younger couple were assigned to work with him.
Over the past 35 years, the two generations have accurately reported various fire risks and participated in firefighting more than 100 times.
