国内英语新闻:Across China: "Sand fighters" on a mission to protect desert railways

LANZHOU, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- As most people continue to savor a deep slumber, 24-year-old Song Weiying begins his day to work as a "sand fighter" in the Kumtag Desert in northwest China.

Also dubbed as a "terracotta warrior" or "scavenger," Song is one of the railway maintenance workers at China Railway Lanzhou Group Co., Ltd., working on a railway section passing through the desert in Gansu Province.

"Strong winds blow from spring to winter, making it very hard for us to clear the sand on the railway," Song said.

The Dunhuang Railway, where Song and his colleagues work, intersects with existing railways in Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai and Tibet, reducing the distance between Xinjiang and Tibet by 1,100 kilometers.

The railway section from Yangguan to Shashangou on the Dunhuang Railway is infamous for strong gales. Located in the midst of the desert, the section could sometimes get buried under sand, posing a serious threat to the safety of railway traffic.

As these "sand fighters" undertake the sand-clearing mission, they have to withstand sandstorms and low visibility. At times, conditions are so rough that sand might even get into their eyes, ears and mouth.

Recalling one such ordeal, Song said once he and his colleagues had to rush to their workplace after receiving a wind warning and it took them more than 10 hours to clear the sand, which otherwise, takes just a few hours on a normal day.

"The sandstorm was so severe that we couldn't open our eyes and had to grope our way forward. Those moments made me realize what desperation means," Song said.

Unlike Song, Yu Guohua is more optimistic. Yu, who volunteered to become a railway maintenance worker in 1995, said hardships always rekindle his enthusiasm for life.

During a recent sand-clearing operation by the team on the Yangguan-Shashangou section, Yu Guohua took off his gloves and proudly showed the calluses on his hands.

"If we don't volunteer, who else will?" he said, as the workers advanced unfazed like camels in the desert.