Five officers from the Nanliao Police Station of the Luzhu Precinct formed their own “Nanliao Mountain Climbing Club.” Over the past three years, they have challenged more than 30 of Taiwan’s Hundred Peaks. Despite their long working hours and difficulty in securing leave, being police officers has actually allowed them to avoid crowds by climbing on weekdays. After scaling several peaks, their regular training performance has significantly improved. They said, “Although the process is exhausting, the sense of achievement is immense!”
The club “president,” Zheng Xinde, is passionate about mountain climbing. Three years ago, after being transferred to the Nanliao Station, he tempted his colleagues with beautiful photos of misty mountain landscapes, skillfully avoiding any mention of the hardships of climbing. Although everyone initially realized they had been “tricked” when they started climbing, the breathtaking scenery quickly made their fatigue vanish, leaving only the satisfaction of conquest. As a result, Cai Zhengyan, Gao Xianghe, Shi Shunlin, and Wu Guodong were all “willing victims of the trick!”
The five have trekked across various types of high mountains in Taiwan, conquering peaks such as Jiayi Lake, Shakaduo, and Nanhushan. Each trip lasts at least two days and one night. Although they have to sacrifice the hard-to-come-by consecutive days off that police officers value, everyone remains enthusiastic. Station Chief Liu Mingkun also does his best to help ensure the “Nanliao Mountain Climbing Club” can go out as a full team.
Zheng Xinde jokes, “You’ll know how fit you are once you start climbing.” One colleague even discovered he had diabetes through the activity. As for Zheng Xinde, his regular training performance on 3,000-meter peaks has improved dramatically—he used to be just barely passing, but now he finishes more than two minutes faster. “The older I get, the better my stamina becomes.”
In early December last year, while climbing Qilai Mountain, the group suddenly received news that Patrol Sergeant Gao Xianghe’s wife was about to give birth—a whole month earlier than expected. Seeing how eager Gao was to return home, the team turned back midway. They joked, “Luckily we didn’t need to call a helicopter.” On the tenth, the group plans to tackle the challenge again to complete what they missed last time.