Self-Taught Chinese Villager Clears 10,000 Land Mines From Sino-Vietnamese War

Wang Kaixue, a 48-year-old villager from Lipo County, in China’s southwestern Yunnan province, has been removing and deactivating thousands of land mines left from the Sino-Vietnam war that happened 40 years ago.

Screenshot via YouTube

Over the past 20 years, Wang has removed over 10,000 land mines scattered across the China-Vietnam border, and taught himself how to successfully deactivate them without any formal military training or protective gear, according to Shanghaiist.

Screenshot via YouTube

He reportedly studied the bomb traps for two years before he started his mission in 1990.

Screenshot via YouTube

Wang has followed a very strict schedule to rid the countryside of any bomb traps left during the war, which erupted on Feb. 17, 1979 and ended a month later on March 16, with the border of Vietnam and southwest China as the main battleground.

He reportedly works on his demining mission for eights hours per day, a hobby he adopted for two decades.

Screenshot via YouTube

It’s estimated that there are tens of thousands of mines that were left behind during the war. Wang believes at least 200 mines are scattered per every 1,300 square meter (13,993 square foot), but he aims to clear out 166,000 square meters (over half a square mile) before he officially retires from his self-imposed mission at the age of 55.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA), meanwhile, officially announced in late 2017 that the demining operation of the soldiers have begun, and will most likely conclude by the end of 2018, China Daily reported.

Featured Image via YouTube / Leon K. Geist

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