Spared the ravages of the ice age, the Changbai Mountains are home to a diverse range of plants and animals from across the globe

Editor's note: As the People's Republic of China prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary on Oct 1, China Daily is featuring a series of stories on the role regions have played in the country's development and where they are today.

As a forest ranger for three decades, nothing much fazes Wang Wei in the wild.

But Wang still remembers one encounter with an aggressive black bear, which caused him and two colleagues on a routine patrol to run for their lives.

"It was less than 20 meters away, standing on its hind legs and poised to attack. We didn't take any chances," Wang, 50, said.

The harrowing experience has not stopped Wang from heading back into the forest to protect its flora and fauna. It is an unshakable sense of duty that he inherited from his father, who was also a ranger, Wang said.

The rangers themselves are part of a dedicated environmental conservation team deployed in the Changbai Mountains, Jilin province, that has successfully maintained the national nature reserve as one of the world's most pristine and ecologically important areas for decades.