A couple has been rooted in the desert for 18 years, guarding the Great Wall.
Zhang Jiquan, 58, and his wife Wen Chunyu, 56, are from Lyujiazhuang village of Zhuanqukou township in Dunhuang, Northwest China's Gansu Province.
In 2006 China issued Regulations on the Protection of the Great Wall, which clearly put forward building of a system of Great Wall protectors.
Zhang and Wen applied successively to become cultural relic protectors at the Dunhuang Cultural Relics Protection Center. They became responsible for guarding Yumen Pass, or Jade Gate Pass, a strategic fort on the ancient Silk Road that can be traced back to the early Han Dynasty(202BC-AD220).
In addition to carrying out routine patrols inspecting and documenting the Great Wall and its surrounding environment, the couple also has to drive away large animals that approach the protected area of the wall.
At first the couple had to endure harsh living conditions and face the dangers posed by the scorching sun, howling winds and mosquito bites.
More recently as the country has strengthened protection of cultural relics, the local government has built a house for the Gobi Desert couple, later adding electricity, internet access and water. Surveillance cameras and loudspeakers have also been installed to help them better protect the wall.
"We don't have extraordinary abilities, but our biggest aspiration is to do our utmost duty to protect the Great Wall so that future generations can still see and learn from history, "Zhang said.
