Firefighters gather for a meeting at the camp of their squadron, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, May 19, 2019. Located on a latitude of 53 °N, the primeval forest area in the north of Greater Hinggan Mountains has a long winter. The temperature can reach -58 °C, with the frost-free period lasting for only 70 days. Over the past half century, there have been thousands of forest fires and frequent thunderstorms. Fortunately, there is a special team stationed here, the Qiqian Squadron of the Greater Hinggan Mountains Detachment of Inner Mongolia Brigade. Founded in 1963, the squadron has been guarding 950,000 hectares of virgin forests, with a per capita fire prevention area of more than 16,000 hectares. Taking the responsibility of protecting the forests in the northern part of China, Qiqian squadron has accomplished a number of major forest fire fighting missions over the past 50 years. (Xinhua/Liu Lei)
