The green guardian

However, Saihanba was a wasteland of "yellow sand covering the sky and flying birds without inhabiting trees" 59 years ago. Whenever the north wind blows, the windy sand located in Hunshandak Sand Land in Inner Mongolia will drive southward, passing Saihanba and reaching Beijing and Tianjin.

Nowadays, people who have come to Saihanba can hardly imagine the arid scene. Occasionally, a gust of wind passes by, and they would just sigh and shout how strong the wind is, but they would not feel sandblasted.

On Oct 9, watchmen Liu Jun and Wang Juan were observing the surrounding forest area on a watchtower in Saihanba Forest Farm in Hebei province. Liu is in charge of the observation, the other keeps recording, and the event log is reported every 15 minutes.

"Spring and autumn are the critical fire prevention periods for our forest farm. We need to stay here for three months, have three meals a day, work and live in the building," says Liu Jun, who has been engaged in observation for 13 years. Simple as it looks, the job is quite the burden on their shoulders. Only by enjoying loneliness can they keep this forest safe and sound.