Typhoons and surging tides fail to dampen sailors' spirits

Members of a garrison on a small island in the South China Sea are determined to conquer nature and make the reef their home. Zhang Yangfei reports from Sansha, Hainan.

Every member of the People's Liberation Army Navy deployed on Zhongjian Island in the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea is asked to plant a tree on the day they arrive.

The trees symbolize the new recruits taking root on the motherland, which they will safeguard unswervingly while contributing to the development of the island, which lies off the coast of Hainan province.