Volunteer tomb guards winning recognition

In the countryside of Xianyang City in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, He Jin patrols cornfields every night with a flashlight and a truncheon. For the past 15 years, the farmer has been among thousands of locals who volunteer to protect heritage sites in this province packed with the ancient tombs of Chinese emperors.

Xianyang was the capital of the Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C.). The 27 Han- (206 B.C. - A.D.220) and Tang- (618-907) Dynasty tombs in the northern part of Xianyang are why it is dubbed the "City of Oriental Pyramids."

He Jin's role in safeguarding Xianyang's Kangling Mausoleum, tomb of Han Dynasty Emperor Ping, has brought him, and many similar volunteers, much praise recently as China becomes more focused on protecting its historical resources. With heritage conservation laws being tightened nationwide since the 1990s, a special day was held earlier this summer to further promote this campaign. China's Eighth Cultural Heritage Day brought contests and performances to Xianyang on June 8.

He Jin may finally be getting the recognition he deserves. Fifteen years ago, aged 24, he quit the military and came back home to Xianyang's Hexi Village. Unlike his peers who migrated to cities for big money, he chose to stay and became a volunteer guard over the Kangling Mausoleum.

It was in childhood that he first became interested in the "mounds of earth" covering the tombs around his village. His father would walk around them every day and say to him, "they are treasures left by our ancestors and nobody has the right to ruin them."

At that time, Hexi was surrounded by many subordinate tombs -- or those holding the remains of lesser personages clustered near the main emperor's burial ground. But there were no laws or regulations to protect cultural relics in China then. Many villagers began to remove materials from those tombs to build houses, or even farm on top of the bigger tombs.

"Two subordinate tombs in the east of the village disappeared when I was in high school," He says with a sigh. "Cultural relics are non-renewable resources and I just hope my children and grandchildren can see them in the future."

There are only two official employees of the Kangling Mausoleum Relics Management Center, a government department for cultural relics protection, according to director Zhang Xiaojun.

"Two people are responsible for an area of 2.7 square km," he explains. "We are shorthanded, so we invite three volunteer farmers to help us, including He Jin."

There are nearly 5,000 people in Shaanxi Province who volunteer for cultural heritage protection, and most of them are farmers, says Liu Yunhui, deputy chief of the Shaanxi cultural heritage administration.

"Civilian force is needed in this field," Liu adds.

But these volunteers face great hardships. They do the work without any pay or holidays. In the daytime, they labor in the fields or on nearby construction sites. If lucky, they earn several thousand yuan.

"I just feel sorry for my wife and children because I fail to give them a better life," says He Jin.

In addition, their lives are often at risk. The volunteers make their rounds every night after 8 p.m. and they sometimes encounter grave robbers, who are fierce and malicious, says Zhang Xiaojun.

Dong Mingyuan, 71, volunteers in Xianyang to guard the Maoling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He did not rest after retirement, but came to protect the resting place of one of the great Chinese emperors.

"It is said that [locals with my family name] are descendants of Dong Zhongshu, an eminent Chinese scholar in the Han Dynasty. So it is our responsibility to protect these tombs," Dong says.

Dong Mingyuan comes to the tombs every day. If he sees any suspicious people, he reports them to the authorities immediately.

He has come across snakes, scorpions, grave robbers and many unruly visitors. Dong recalls that on one occasion, two men managed to vault over the fence around the tomb. He stopped them. One of the intruders punched him in the face.

"It's not easy," Dong notes, "but as long as I can move, I will take care of these tombs."

In 1982, China's top legislators approved the country's law on cultural relics protection. Since the 1990s, many important policies and measurements have come into effect, laying a legal foundation for conservation.

Shaanxi Province holds 37,820 ancient ruins and tombs. In the past three years, it has uncovered 893 criminal cases related to cultural relics, arrested 735 suspects and recovered 2,698 relics. Volunteers have played an important role in these achievements.

"I heard that all tombs have been installing electronic equipment. I will continue taking care of them anyway," He Jin says, his eyes scanning the middle distance around the tomb for anything suspicious.