Friends keep watch over the forest

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.