Xu Pan can't remember how many times in the past months she climbed the 95 steps on a 24-meter-tall watchtower to keep an eye on the same woodland her relatives watched over in past decades.

As rangers at the Zhanhe Forest Bureau, a subsidiary of State-owned China Longjiang Forest Industry Group Co in Heilongjiang province, Xu and her husband Wang Liuyang work to protect forests and wildlife in a zone highly prone to forest fires.

Every year, the risk of forest fires becomes pronounced in two dry periods March 15 to June 15, and Sept 15 to Nov 15. During these times, rangers must remain at their posts, no matter what.