Liu Zhenmao, male, Han nationality, born in April 1947, joined the Communist Party of China in November 1966. He was the former director of Armed Forces Department in Changce Township, Yizhang County, Hunan Province, and is a voluntary forest ranger in the Shizikou Mountain. Known as a “living Lei Feng” of the new era, Liu Zhenmao has guarded the Shizikou Mountain for 40 years.

Liu Zhenmao was awarded the titles of a “Moral Model of Chenzhou City” and an “Outstanding Communist Party Member of Hunan Province” in 2011, and attended the 10th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China in Hunan Province. Liu Zhenmao also toured the province giving a report as a good cadre. He was rated as a “National Model of Honesty and Integrity” on October 13, 2015.

For more than 40 years, Liu Zhenmao has endured loneliness, overcome difficulties and worked at the front line of voluntary forest protection. He set up a forest guard post at his own expense, fought against poachers and woodcutters, and dedicated his life to guarding the green mountains at the border of Hunan, Guangdong, and Jiangxi provinces.

In 1993, when other forest rangers left the mountains due to lack of funds, Liu Zhenmao resolutely decided to rebuild the forest guard post out of his own pocket and continued to defend the forest. His wife ran a small convenience store. Their two children were studying at school. Without help, she couldn’t continue to open the store because she was in poor health. His wife tried to persuade him to give up since the forest protection team was disbanded. “What a huge asset! There are tens of thousands of acres of mountain forests. If I leave it abandoned, what can I tell to the future generations?” said Liu Zhenmao.

All construction materials such as sand and cement had to be carried up the mountains on shoulders to build a forest guard post. He invested all his savings of over 36,000 yuan over the years, and closed the convenience store.

The forest guard post is several mountains away from the nearest village, and he has to walk for four to five hours to reach the village. There are no lights and TV in the post, so he can only listen to the radio and read newspapers.

Liu Zhenmao walks over 30 kilometers to patrol the mountains every day, and the total distance of his mountain tours over the past 40 years is equivalent to that of walking around the earth over 10 times. To save time, he only eats two meals a day and sometimes only brings a few sweet potatoes.

After retirement, he moved into the mountains. He did not return home for the wedding of his son, nor for the Spring Festival reunion. He celebrated the New Year at the post for 22 times.

Liu Zhenmao has decided to devote his rest life to protecting the green mountains and fighting against poachers.