Beyond the call of duty: Gansu's forest rangers on patrol

"Seeing the lush mountains, I feel fulfilled. This sense of achievement ultimately led me to decide to stay," he said.

Li Yafei, 38, said his father and grandfather were also forest rangers. He grew up listening to their stories of protecting the forest.

Rangers rarely see other people. They mostly see the occasional wild animal foraging.

"The biggest animal my colleagues and I encountered during our mountain patrol was a black bear. When we saw it from a distance, we were scared and quickly took a detour. Thinking about it afterward, we are still quite scared," Li said with an embarrassed smile.

He told the media that forest rangers are like the "eyes" of mountains and forests. They are mainly responsible for monitoring forest fires, looking out for traces of fireworks and checking for illegal logging, poaching and other situations.

"The vegetation and trees in the forest area are increasing, and the ecology is improving day by day, and that makes me feel my work is worth it," he said.