Now let's move on to the second episode of Jiuduansha Wetland. The wetland lies at the intersection of the Yangtze River and East China Sea, and is isolated from the mainland and other inhabited islands. Its only inhabitants are four guards.

68-year-old Xie Wenguan has lived as a guard on the wetland for the past eleven years. He's one of the four inhabitants of the island and life is plain and extremely quiet. The noise of the city is replaced by the symphony of nature.

The soil here only allows certain plants to grow. A few years ago, Xie and his colleagues started to grow vegetables and now they are able to feed themselves. Living like a modern Robinson Crusoe, Xie has something more to do. The wetland is an important stopover for bird and fish migration. One of Xie's daily tasks is to record what he has seen. Some drawing can also help. But life here isn't always calm.

Xie said, "One summer, there was a typhoon with rain and waves. As you can see, the building behind me is the only house on the island. At that time, it had only two floors. The first floor was flooded by the river. We had to shelter on the second floor. We were terrified. All we could see was waves."

"Living on the island with no inhabitants is primitive. Those windmills are few things that belong to a modern life. Even drinking water is a problem."

The water they use is pumped directly from the Yangtze River and then purified with chemicals.

Xie also said, "Before we had the small pump stations, we had to collect more than a hundred buckets of water a day. Last winter was very cold and one pump broke. It hasn’t been fixed yet. Living conditions are getting better, but you always have to fight against loneliness."

Three months ago, Zeng Zhengjiang became one of the four guards on the island and joined Xie Wenguan as his new partner. With the approach of a traditional festival, the two guards add an extra activity- picking leaves from the reeds. The leaves are perfect for wrapping rice dumplings, the traditional food for the upcoming festival.

Zeng, said, "Life here is tougher than I imagined. At first I don’t know how to pass the time. I’m still learning to get used the daily routines here. I like to cook. I try to make nice food out of it from things growing in our small garden. Apart from vegetables, we have to rely on the outside for food."

After so many years on the wetland, Xie says he knew the island in his own way such as the growing height of the reeds and the unpredictable weather and sea condition. He still likes to look at the dock even though nobody’s coming for a visit. Apart from his partner, his company is a radio.

He's getting older and he won’t be here for much longer. But he would still like to come back for a visit.