Family members of Zhao Fuzhou all work diligently for the safety of Saihanba National Forest Park. 

On September 15, Zhao Fuzhou and his wife Chen Xiuling once again came to the Saihanba Forest Farm, in North China's Hebei Province and started this year's work of "fire watching."
At an altitude of 1,800 meters stands a small white building with a red flag waving in the wind. This is the forest Fire Watch Tower, a place very familiar to Zhao and his wife and where they work to guard the safety of the immense forest.
"I worked in the tower for the first time from 1983 to 1988," said Zhao. "After working as a forest ranger for a few years, I worked at the tower again and now it has been 15 years."
"Saihanba is the man-made forest farm created by our elder generations with great hardships. A safe Saihanba forest farm means we will have safe lives here," Zhao added.
In 1962, the State Forestry Administration established the Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm to put an end to sandstorms, and the first generation of tree-planters went there to green the barren desert and turn it into an oasis.
Saihanba, like a solid barrier, blocked the yellow sands from the south, but the north wind puts it in a severe danger of fire. As a result, nine fire watch towers were built in the forest.
In 1982, as the child of the first generation of the tree-planters in Saihanba, 22-year-old Zhao came to work here as a fire watcher.
For Zhao and his wife Chen decades ago, working as a fire watcher was no more than a job, but now, the responsibility of this job has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the couple.

Zhao Fuzhou and his wife Chen Xiuling sit in front of the Fire Watch Tower where they have worked for decades. 

It involves fighting with the wind and snow, with wolves, and with the torturous loneliness. There is no lunch break, and the husband and wife have to take turns to have lunch.
"Nothing can parallel the responsibility of fire prevention as a fire may ruin decades of hard work," said Zhao.
As the forest area continued to expand, the watch tower was equipped with advanced automated infrared monitoring devices and communication equipment.
"Advanced equipment can't replace people." Zhao has reported every 15 minutes during the day for 20 years.
His son Zhao Dongyang joined Saihanba's professional forest firefighting team and has worked in that capacity for 15 years. "The forest is my homeland, and it is my obligatory responsibility to protect it," he said.
The firefighting team has seven groups and 88 members, and they guard and protect the forest around the clock.
After 55 years of endeavor, Saihanba has miraculously rehabilitated the land to a forest. The Saihanba Forest Farm is China's largest man-made woodland and its afforestation area reaches 1.12 million mu (about 74,660 hectares).
Saihanba Afforestation Community won United Nations' highest environmental honor, the 2017 Champions of the Earth award at the third UN Environment Assembly. It sets a Chinese example for the world's environment protection and management.
"From a single tree to a forest, Saihanba has never had a fire in 56 years," Chen said with a sense of accomplishment.

Zhao and Chen pose for a photo in front of the Fire Watch Tower decades ago when they were young.