By: Gan Mingdong
Translated from Chinese by: Meg Xu
My name is Gan Mingdong, born in 1994. I consider myself one of China’s first generation of "left-behind children." When I was very young, my parents left to work in Jiangsu province, and I stayed behind with my grandparents. Over time, I became unruly and rebellious, constantly getting into fights and causing trouble. I didn’t take school seriously and eventually became known as the local troublemaker in the area. No one wanted anything to do with me.
After my grandparents passed away, I didn’t go to high school, spending my days idle and aimless. One of my most vivid memories is sleeping by the roadside, shivering from the cold and unable to fall asleep, only to be surrounded by wild dogs. When I woke up in the morning, I was so hungry that I resorted to hunting animals and birds for food. Hunting was a skill I had learned by the age of ten, and it became my only means of survival. Over time, I became incredibly skilled at hunting—rarely missing my target. I could smell the scent of animals from far away, tracking them with ease.
Back then, it wasn’t just my parents who had given up on me; I had given up on myself too. My uncle often told my parents, "That son of yours is bound to end up in prison someday."
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One day, news spread in the village that the Laohegou Conservation Center in Taohuayuan was hiring. I thought it would be a good way to pass the time and earn some money. During the interview, I was terrified they would find out about my past and reject me on the spot. But to my surprise, I was hired. Later, I learned that the person who interviewed me, Brother Chen, already knew about my hunting background.
From being a hunter to becoming a protector of animals, my life flipped upside down at Laohegou. In fact, my hunting skills turned out to be useful—I was great at climbing mountains and knew exactly where to find traps. Using my past experience, I became the best at dismantling hunting traps in Laohegou. For the first time, I saw a glimmer of hope—a life completely different from my past.
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I worked hard to learn everything I didn’t know. I discovered that keeping field logs helped me learn, so from November 6, 2021, to this day, I’ve written over 800 logs without missing a single day. Starting from a low point, I put in extra time and effort. Every year, my field patrol mileage ranks among the highest. In 2023 alone, I patrolled 637 kilometers.
For the first time in my life, I felt respected.
In November 2021, Professor Wang Dajun from Peking University needed help with snow leopard monitoring and requested assistance from Taohuayuan. I was recommended because of my 10 years of hunting experience and sensitivity to wildlife. I was thrilled—this was my chance to prove myself!
On my first day in Qinghai, I saw a photo of a snow leopard on the wall of the conservation station. It looked so majestic! At first, I was just doing odd jobs, and no specific tasks were assigned to me. But after a few days of feeling useless, I grew anxious. I didn’t want to waste this opportunity or return home in shame.
I started following the scientists around, asking questions about everything they did. Gradually, I got the hang of it. I independently set up 23 cameras, all of which captured snow leopards. I suggested a location for a trap, but it wasn’t accepted. So, I did my own data analysis and found a spot with 20 digging marks of varying ages. The next day, there was a new mark. I convinced Professor Wang to set a trap there, and we successfully captured a snow leopard.
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Capturing that snow leopard gave me immense confidence. Since then, I’ve been invited to participate in three field expeditions. On one occasion, I helped scientists capture a female Tibetan gazelle—a first in China. I’ve worked hard to learn everything I can, running across every mountain and repeatedly asking scientists about animal behavior. I even started reading research papers, though most of the content was beyond my understanding. I focused on what I could grasp and recorded it in my logs. For the first time in my life, I was fully committed to doing something meaningful.
I’ve grown from being insecure, anxious, and hesitant to becoming more confident and mature.
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Gradually, people around me began to see me differently. In the past, I was shunned wherever I went. My in-laws used to shut the door on me and even kicked my wife out of their home. Now, they proudly tell their relatives and friends about me. When someone asks, "Where’s Gan Mingdong?" my father-in-law replies, "He’s out helping experts with animal research."
My son often asks me about animals he sees on TV or in books. I explain their habits and scientific names, and if I don’t know, I look it up. I see admiration in his eyes when he says, "Dad, how do you know so much?" It fills me with emotion. If I hadn’t chosen this path, my son might have followed in my footsteps, becoming a hunter in the mountains.
I won’t let my children grow up as left-behind kids, and I won’t let them repeat my mistakes. Most importantly, I’ve stepped out of the shadows of my past and found my place in the wilderness I’ve come to love.
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