Yang Tao, 33, is a police officer at Lunzhen Police Station under the Chang’an Branch of the Xi’an Public Security Bureau. Since joining the force in March 2001, he has received awards from the provincial and municipal bureaus for five consecutive years, been recognized as an outstanding civil servant for three consecutive years, was awarded the Third-Class Merit for Individual Rescue by the municipal bureau in 2009, the Third-Class Merit for Comprehensive Individual Performance in 2010, and honored as one of the “Top Ten People Who Moved the Ancient City” in 2010, and named an Outstanding Grassroots Police Officer of the Province in 2011. One evening in mid-November 2009, Xi’an experienced its first heavy snowfall of winter. Yang Tao was on duty that night when, around midnight, a urgent phone call jolted him awake. A transferred 110 emergency call reported that seven medical staff from Shaanxi Bo’ai Hospital had gone missing on the high mountain meadow at Dongfogou in Jiwuzi Village—over 30 kilometers from the exit—while taking photos of the snow scenery.
Yang Tao quickly contacted the fire department and armed police to assist in the search while driving through the heavy snow toward Jiwuzi Village, 30 kilometers away. He promptly found four local guides familiar with the high mountain terrain to help devise a rescue plan. An hour later, the firefighters and armed police also arrived, and everyone immediately split into two groups to search the mountain from different routes. Eventually, the teams converged on the meadow. Yang Tao led his group into the bitter wind and heavy snow, trudging along the rugged mountain path. After six hours of searching, they reached the high mountain meadow at the main peak of Dongfogou, at an altitude of over 2,300 meters. The heavy snow had completely covered any traces of the missing, leaving no clues, and the stranded were unreachable. The temperature at the mountaintop read minus 32°C. After more than three more hours of arduous trekking, they finally found the seven trapped medical staff in a cave in the direction of Ningshan. Upon returning to the station, Yang Tao realized his injured right foot had swollen so badly he could no longer walk.
Zheng Qunli, chief of Lunzhen Police Station under the Chang’an Branch of the Xi’an Public Security Bureau, said: “Searching for lost tourists in the mountains is like racing against death. Though extremely tough, I believe it’s worth it, because nothing is more important than life. On stormy nights filled with wind, rain, snow, lightning, and thunder, Yang Tao takes part in every such rescue mission. The reason our station has consistently carried out every rescue operation over the years is that helping others through hard, unpaid efforts represents the greatest realization of a police officer’s self-worth. More importantly, it enhances the image of our public security organs in the hearts of the people. Over the past five years, Yang Tao has actively participated in such rescues, saving more than 100 tourists.”