On the evening of March 7, a light drizzle brought a touch of coolness to the otherwise stuffy weather. Li Jing’an was sitting around with friends, chatting and having a meal, when a call for help from the police suddenly made him tense: two UIC (Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College) students had gotten lost while hiking in the afternoon, their location unknown and their phone batteries running low.
As the captain of the Zhuhai Mountaineering Association Rescue Team, Li Jing’an had encountered countless situations like this. With time pressing, he immediately gathered four team members and set off for the rendezvous point. It was already past 9 p.m., pitch dark, with rain falling intermittently.
The rescue team searched the mountain overnight.
According to reports, the two students—one male and one female—got lost around 4 p.m. while hiking toward the Sun Yat-sen University Zhuhai Campus from Phoenix Mountain. They had been in contact with schoolmates before but their exact location was difficult to determine. They had been trapped for over five hours—this was all the information the rescue team had.
At the foot of the hill behind Sun Yat-sen University’s Zhuhai Campus, police officers from the local station and several school teachers joined the rescue team. Attempts were made to contact the lost students, but both phones remained switched off.
The rescuers were intimately familiar with Phoenix Mountain’s terrain—who had trails leading where, which cliffs were particularly steep—all were etched into their memories. If the trapped individuals could describe their surroundings, the rescuers could pinpoint their location.
But at this moment, that information was unavailable. Li Jing’an decided to split the team into two groups—one starting from the back of Sun Yat-sen University’s campus, the other ascending from Meilwan. Both teams would search separately. “It was a last resort. Hiking at night and slippery roads due to rain posed certain dangers.”
Deciding water rescue was the best option
Just as the rescue team was about to set out, a school teacher received a call from the lost students, marking a turning point in the operation. It turned out that since around 4 p.m., the lost students had been trying to reach a classmate who was familiar with Phoenix Mountain’s terrain via phone. This classmate tried to guide them out through the phone, but with little success—their phone battery was quickly draining. To preserve power for critical communication, the lost students opted to turn off their phones and only switch them on periodically to stay in touch.
When Li Jing’an took the call, he learned that the two students were stranded on a patch of grass in the mountains, surrounded by water, with a large reservoir nearby. Based on past experience, the rescuers determined that the students were likely in a valley on the northwest side of Yangliao Reservoir. Li Jing’an suggested deploying a special police team to cross the reservoir by boat, which seemed to be the most efficient and safest rescue method at the time.
Two students safely returned unharmed
By 11:30 p.m., there were about a dozen people at the edge of Yangliao Reservoir—including members of the rescue team, police officers, reservoir administrators, and school teachers. A light breeze blew, bringing chills. Several police cars arrived at the scene. After hearing the situation, and following the location provided by Li Jing’an, three special police officers boarded a boat into the reservoir at 12:07 a.m. the next day, disappearing into the thick white mist within minutes.
Around 12:45 a.m., the students’ parents called to say their children had been picked up by the police on the boat. Shortly after, the lights of the small boat appeared on the water. Six minutes later, the two students safely reached shore in good condition.
One of the students, a male surnamed Li, said they had started hiking from the Beijing Normal University Zhuhai Campus just before 3 p.m., planning to reach the Sun Yat-sen University Zhuhai Campus in two hours. However, they got lost around 4 p.m. and were stuck in the mountains for over eight hours until they were rescued.
As the captain of the Zhuhai Mountaineering Association Rescue Team, Li Jing’an had encountered countless situations like this. With time pressing, he immediately gathered four team members and set off for the rendezvous point. It was already past 9 p.m., pitch dark, with rain falling intermittently.
The rescue team searched the mountain overnight.
According to reports, the two students—one male and one female—got lost around 4 p.m. while hiking toward the Sun Yat-sen University Zhuhai Campus from Phoenix Mountain. They had been in contact with schoolmates before but their exact location was difficult to determine. They had been trapped for over five hours—this was all the information the rescue team had.
At the foot of the hill behind Sun Yat-sen University’s Zhuhai Campus, police officers from the local station and several school teachers joined the rescue team. Attempts were made to contact the lost students, but both phones remained switched off.
The rescuers were intimately familiar with Phoenix Mountain’s terrain—who had trails leading where, which cliffs were particularly steep—all were etched into their memories. If the trapped individuals could describe their surroundings, the rescuers could pinpoint their location.
But at this moment, that information was unavailable. Li Jing’an decided to split the team into two groups—one starting from the back of Sun Yat-sen University’s campus, the other ascending from Meilwan. Both teams would search separately. “It was a last resort. Hiking at night and slippery roads due to rain posed certain dangers.”
Deciding water rescue was the best option
Just as the rescue team was about to set out, a school teacher received a call from the lost students, marking a turning point in the operation. It turned out that since around 4 p.m., the lost students had been trying to reach a classmate who was familiar with Phoenix Mountain’s terrain via phone. This classmate tried to guide them out through the phone, but with little success—their phone battery was quickly draining. To preserve power for critical communication, the lost students opted to turn off their phones and only switch them on periodically to stay in touch.
When Li Jing’an took the call, he learned that the two students were stranded on a patch of grass in the mountains, surrounded by water, with a large reservoir nearby. Based on past experience, the rescuers determined that the students were likely in a valley on the northwest side of Yangliao Reservoir. Li Jing’an suggested deploying a special police team to cross the reservoir by boat, which seemed to be the most efficient and safest rescue method at the time.
Two students safely returned unharmed
By 11:30 p.m., there were about a dozen people at the edge of Yangliao Reservoir—including members of the rescue team, police officers, reservoir administrators, and school teachers. A light breeze blew, bringing chills. Several police cars arrived at the scene. After hearing the situation, and following the location provided by Li Jing’an, three special police officers boarded a boat into the reservoir at 12:07 a.m. the next day, disappearing into the thick white mist within minutes.
Around 12:45 a.m., the students’ parents called to say their children had been picked up by the police on the boat. Shortly after, the lights of the small boat appeared on the water. Six minutes later, the two students safely reached shore in good condition.
One of the students, a male surnamed Li, said they had started hiking from the Beijing Normal University Zhuhai Campus just before 3 p.m., planning to reach the Sun Yat-sen University Zhuhai Campus in two hours. However, they got lost around 4 p.m. and were stuck in the mountains for over eight hours until they were rescued.