As the best preserved oasis on the Tropic of Cancer, Shaoguan's green mountains and lucid waters are fascinating.

There is over 400,000 Mu(“Mu”, Chinese unit of land measurement that is commonly 666.7 square meters) of forest under the management of Guangdong Tianjing Mountain Forest Farm , with 2,566,700 cubic meters of standing stock and a 97.92% forest coverage rate. The well preserved forest witnesses the hard work and contributions of the forest and conservation workers, who have spent their most valuable time in maintaining and improving the quality of the forest.

Guangdong Tianjing Mountain National Forest Park [Photo/ Li Qiao]

 

Founded in 1958, Guangdong Tianjing Mountain Forest Farm mainly focused on logging and forest cultivation in the past. After several generations of forest and conservation workers’ hard work, based on its resource advantages, the forest farm has created a green and ecological development pattern of "Forest for water retention, Water for power generation, Benefits of power generation for forest cultivation". Thanks to this development pattern, the ecological function of the forest has been improved year by year, the efficiency of water and soil conservation has been enhanced continuously, while the total ecological benefits has been increased yearly, and the population of wild animals and plants is growing too.

 

Sunrise on the Tianjing Mountain Forest Farm

 

"Some people believe that it is pleasant to work as forest ranger, but I think it is about which perspective you are looking at the job. If it is about walking through the beautiful forest every day with blue sky, white clouds and green mountains, spending the whole day with flowers, birds, fish and insects in the mountains, taking every fresh breath, it is really quite pleasant." said a forest ranger who works on the forest farm.

 

But in fact, their work is quite hard. They should not only be responsible for the safety of forest resources within the scope of their management, but also need to carry out daily patrol, forest fire prevention etc. Meanwhile, they should also take into account the implementation and management of related projects involving forestry ecological construction, and even deal with emergencies such as natural disasters. In their own words, as long as it is within the jurisdiction of the forest protection station, they must take responsibility and make things right. 

 

Forest rangers are conducting daily patrol

 

In the past two years, the natural disasters that struck the area are mainly floods and ice damage. When natural disaster hits, the forest rangers should rush to the disaster site and investigate the scene,  report to the superior and handle it in time. 

 

“I can still remember that the flood hit on May 20th, 2021, and the flood waters were surging. We responded to the emergency immediately and cleaned up the fallen trees,  dredged the side ditches of the roads and culverts in time.” Although the tone of the forest ranger is understated when recalling, in the face of natural disasters, adding that it is in the mountains, the difficulty of work and the risk must be great. 

 

Forest rangers are putting up posters

 

Since March 2020, 9 Forest Farm Protection Stations have been successively established on the the forest farm that covers over 40 Mu of land. The stations are namely Tianpeng , Daping,Tongluopo, Pingxi, Baizhu, Gujiedong, Baxianqiao, Yuandong, Shenhuang. At present, a new management system--Forest Chief has been fully implemented here, with better personnel arrangements and more specified responsibilities for each division, ensuring the protection of natural resources, forest cultivation, scientific research and forest fire protection. People in the area have developed better awareness of ecological environment protection, while illegal acts such as dis-afforestation, illegal hunting are rarely found. The awareness of forest fire prevention has also been deeply rooted in people’s mind.

Forest pests have been under effective monitoring, and wild animals and plants have been effectively protected while some social and ecological benefits have been achieved in the research projects of wild animals, plants, insects and air monitoring.

 

Since April 2021, the Forest Chief management system was established, with the chief of the forest farm as the First-tier Forest Chief, head of Forest Farm Protection Station as Second-tier Forest Chief, the staff of the forest farm administration office as supervisor of forest resources and staff of forest farm protection stations as forest rangers. The well-designed management system provides a long term mechanism for the protection of forest resources. 

 

Diequan waterfall in Tianjing Mount.

 

Looking back at the history of the construction and development of the Tianjingshan Forest Farm of Guangdong Province, generations of "forest rangers" in Tianjingshan have been making arduous efforts to conservation of the forests. Many of them are college graduates from all over the country. The "post-60s", "post-70s", "post-80s" and even "post-90s" have traveled thousands of miles to the forest farm, using the scientific knowledge they have learned and the innovative thinking they have to promote the construction and development of the forest farm. They have also created a "green" path for their career development here. When the reporter asked why they chose to stay here, they said pleasantly: "The natural ecological environment of the forest farm is very good, and we feel comfortable to work together and we are like a family here."

 

The forest rangers who are called "Nanling Ecological Guard" have become an integral part of this beautiful green forest

 

The lush forests have shown that the forest rangers are now reaping the rewards of all their hard work. And the The forest rangers who are called "Nanling Ecological Guard" have become an integral part of this beautiful green forest.