Man of the mountain

Shaba village in Tianquan county - about 45 km from Yingjing county - has four surveyors. Yang Xuexiang volunteered to join the group after the April 20 quake.

The 47-year-old was a farmer and now rides his motorbike everyday to patrol the 1-km road along the hill where his village is located.

Yang says he checks the road every three hours and takes shifts with his partner.

"We mainly focus on landslides because of the coming rainy season. Falling stones from the mountain are dangerous," says the new recruit.

Yang gets up at 4 am to start his daily patrols. His village has a population of about 600 people.

In Ya'an city where the earthquake recently hit, there are 946 new high-risk spots threatening 200,000 people, according to the information office of Ya'an government.

Each high-risk geological hazard is required to have two surveyors.

"Of course it's a risky job. But I never think about it that much. I simply want to protect my village and there must be people who take the job," says Luo. He looks at the mountain he has patrolled for nine years and smiles.