Motorcyclists volunteer to fight fire in China's Chongqing

With motors roaring and dust blowing in the air, a group of motorcyclists raced along the steep mountain roads. To them, it was a tense competition with their rivals not people, but a raging fire.

As a forest fire raged in Jinyun Mountain, Beibei District, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on August 21, a group of motorcyclists swarmed to the fire scene, trying their best to provide free transportation for rescuers and supplies on a steep mountain beyond the reach of automobiles.

"No one asked me to come here. It was pure instinct for me to come and see if there was anything I could do. When I arrived, I saw so many people on the scene who had the same thought as me," said Zheng Xiaofeng, a 20-year-old motorcyclist.

Zheng, a food deliveryman, found that the motorcyclists were of varied ages and came from all walks of life, including college students and professors, motorcycle company staff and taxi drivers.

Zheng added that although no one knew each other at that time, they worked in perfect union, as thousands of motorcyclists ferried firefighters and supplies on their two-wheelers, amazing the whole country with the great unity and courage they displayed.

To reach the bushfire rescue frontline, some motorcyclists rode on mountain roads that were still passable. Others had to abandon their motorcycles and use their bare hands to carry goods on steep slopes, while some even held extinguishers in their hands on the frontline, standing directly behind the firefighters.

Around 9 pm on August 25, a sink-or-swim moment arrived for the forest fire battle. The firefighters decided to counter the fire by igniting another fire on the opposite direction to make the two fires meet and lose combustion conditions.

As a recruitment notice for more volunteers at the frontline was released that night, Chen Xiaojiao, a 35-year-old motorcyclist, saw how people vied with each other for a chance to join the battle against the bushfires. When Chen left for the frontline, hundreds of people were still waiting in lines for their chance.

"We were fearless. This is the spirit of China. We stand together and we are not afraid of any challenges," said Chen. During the fire-extinguishing action, Chen was arranged to work at the core area, which was only 100 meters away from the flames.

Around 11 pm on August 25, the bushfire was put out thanks to days of efforts by thousands of professional firefighters and volunteers. While most people felt at ease after hearing the result, rescuers and volunteers on the scene were still working, engaged in activities such as putting out embers, cleaning up garbage and so on.

At around 1 am on August 26, Zheng started his engine and was ready to transport firefighters and other volunteers down to the foot of the mountain.

Though Zheng and Chen had both worked for several days in combating the fire, they refused to be called "heroes."

"The firefighters who braved the flames were the real heroes and we just did our bit to provide some services they needed," said Zheng.