The lawyer whose judgment helped her follow in her father's footsteps

In 1980, Yang Haishan began working as a ranger in the Changbai Mountains, Jilin province. Later, he tried to persuade his daughter to follow in his footsteps, but she had other ideas.

"I sent her to study at the law school at Jilin University, expecting her to use her skills to protect our mountains from being destroyed by poachers. Even though she had a well-paid job and worked in a comfortable environment, she should have come back and fulfilled the mission of protecting our mother mountains," the 63-year-old ranger said.

However, his daughter Yang Jian did not agree. After graduation in 2004, she worked at a court in Changchun, Jilin, a job the local people deemed an "iron rice bowl" - that is, a job for life - and later became a judge.