'Wanted': Who are the Four in the Photo?

"In the rain, I saw the four soldiers leaning on each other to fall asleep. The young faces expressed tiredness. I was moved by the scene and began shooting with my camera," the photojournalist of Guangzhou Daily Shao Quanda remarked.

Time paused on February 4th at Guangzhou railway station. The square had accumulated thousands of waiting passengers who were eager to back home. Police and soldiers took turns to keep order. To save time, the soldiers had a temporary break at the scene after their shifts ended. They were so tired that they fell asleep after a few minutes.

The photo

The photo "Stand-to-sleep Soldiers" was later released in the Guangzhou Daily. But who are they? Do they have stories? These questions aroused reader’s interest and deeply move them.

A clue came from the white gloves on their hands. A soldier said that they received the task with urgency and were given new gloves, which led to them being identified as part of the land force.

The four soldiers

"That day, another soldier told me that a photojournalist had took photos, and that he was afraid he might be scolded or punished. We are from the army and have a soldierly image to maintain. But we have worked over 39 hours and only had a 15-minute nap," one of the four soldiers said.

"We are only four of the thousands that did what needed to be done to complete this task. To appear as the top news in a newspaper is nothing at all, but we would rather be shot with a strong appearance next time," said one soldier with a smile.

(By Jessie Hwang, Alan Devey)

Source: www.lifeofguangzhou.com

Editor: Jessie Hwang