Because of his excellent performance, Hao Yongquan, 58, was chosen as Gansu’s most beautiful forest ranger (护林员) in December, 2023.

Hao has been a forest ranger for 37 years since he stopped serving in the army in 1987. He and his workmates at Guanyin Forest Farm are called the “forests eyes” and “green guardians”.

“Daily work usually starts with patrolling (巡逻). Every morning, we carry necessary equipment after having breakfast and then set off to forests with dry food and water bottles, patrolling until it gets dark,” Hao said.

Rangers have been living in the mountains and forests for years, getting used to difficulties and loneliness. They always go out early and return at sunset during the whole year, and their duty is to protect green mountains and clear waters.

A forest ranger often has to walk more than 12 kilometers a day, and a pair of shoes wears out in two to three months, according to Hao.

Hao Yongquan works at Liuping Forest Management Office. It manages 10,511.6 hectares (公顷).

“Because of poor road conditions, if rangers go to the farthest villages for patrols, they have to walk 30 to 40 kilometers on mountain roads, climb four mountains, and cross more than 10 rivers,” Hao said. “And each patrol takes three to four days.”

When Hao returns from his patrol every day, he writes down the results in the patrol diary, recording his love for mountains and forests.

“The environment is improving day by day, and that makes me feel my work is worth it,” he said.