'Cliff cleaner' and 'tree guard' awarded for high bravery

When Li Peisheng and Hu Xiaochun, two grassroots model workers, wrote a letter to President Xi Jinping, expressing their resolve to contribute to guarding Huangshan Mountain and building a beautiful China, they probably didn't expect a reply.

But they did, actually, receive a letter of reply on Aug 13 from Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

In the letter, Xi praised them for their long and dedicated efforts to keep the mountain clean and tending to the "guest-greeting pine", which is a key feature of the Huangshan Mountain Scenic Area in East China's Anhui province.

"The letter is a huge encouragement not only for me and Hu, but also for all ordinary people like us,"Li, the 48-year-old sanitation worker in Huangshan, says.

Hu, a guardian of the 10-metertall, 1,300-year-old "guest-greeting pine", says he feels the care and concern for ordinary workers between the lines in the reply.

This is the 23rd year for Li working as a cleaner who collects garbage on the cliffs of Huangshan. Every day Li and the cleaning team negotiate steps up the mountain and then use the ropes to access areas where rubbish has been discarded.

Li and the team collect trash wearing ropes and straps like mountaineers, which is, of course, what they are.

It is a dangerous and laborious job. Fully equipped, Li negotiates the cliffs about five times a day.

With its peaks reaching a height of 1,864 meters, Huangshan Mountain is listed as a UNESCO cultural and natural heritage and a world geopark.

"Although I don't easily scare, my first time cleaning the cliffs was terrible. I couldn't control the shaking while facing the cliffs, about the height of a building with dozens of floors," Li recalls.

In the past two decades, Li's efforts are the equivalent of climbing a total height of more than 1,800 kilometers.

He was awarded the title of Good Samaritan of China in 2012. The title honors people who perform extraordinarily in their work. China has been awarding grassroots heroes this title since 2008.

Compared with Li's dangerous job, Hu's work is demanding in a different way. He is the guardian of the time-honored pine tree, which has become a welcome symbol for guests. In 1981, authorities at the scenic spot set up a position to watch over the tree.

The 42-year-old Hu is the tree's 19th guardian. Daily, on his shift he checks on the tree every two hours, all year long and it is the 12th year that he has been watching over the pine. He observes the bark, branches and crown tops.

"For me, the 'guest-greeting pine' is more than a tree, but a family member, whom I should take good care of," Hu says.

Every year, he lives in the mountain near the tree for more than 300 days. During the past 12 years, Hu has recorded the tree's condition in over 60 notebooks. He writes about the weather, wind direction and movement and monitors daily temperatures.

Besides these, Hu checks a litany of other things: whether the tree's support rods are secure, its lightning protection system in order, any traces of animal damage as well as other concerns.

If any issues are found, Hu immediately reports them to the authorities for further action.

Having observed the tree for 12 years, Hu has become a tree specialist. He knows how to deal with super-saturated soil after heavy rain, how to protect the tree from wind damage, and when special attention should be given to the growth of the treetops.

Last year, Hu was awarded the Good Samaritan of China title.

In the reply letter, Xi emphasized that the most notable aspect of being a Good Samaritan of China was that such people accomplished extraordinary achievements in ordinary work.

Xi said that he expects them to lead by example as role models, extol the true, the good and the beautiful, spread positive energy, and inspire more people around them to strive for excellence.

Since 2008, as many as 16,228 people have been awarded the title.

Xinhua