New Year Grassroots Visit | In the Invisible Sunlight and Moonlight, Submariners Guard the Peace of Thousands of Homes in the Deep Blue

This group of special soldiers, who have long been companions of the deep sea and walk in silence, unable to see sunlight or moonlight, yet guard the tranquility of the ocean, are the submarine soldiers of China. As a strategic force for the defense of the country's maritime borders, they protect countless homes with their youth and sincerity. On the eve of the Spring Festival, let us get closer to the Navy's submarine soldiers and understand their steadfastness and deep emotions.

Early in the morning, the officers and soldiers who have just completed a long-distance mission are skillfully maneuvering the submarine to dock.

Once again returning from a dive, when the submarine's hatch is fully opened, fresh air flows along the bridge to every corner of the submarine, and the officers and soldiers can't wait to disembark onto the dock.

Li Hongcai, a member of a submarine unit in the Eastern Theater Navy: After returning from a long voyage, our first task is to unload the used supplies and load new ones, then carry out equipment maintenance, all while maintaining a state of readiness in a very short time.

With a hundred people operating a single weapon, in the dictionary of submarine soldiers, unity and cooperation are not just about executing tasks together; even eating and sleeping must be discussed collectively.

Ren Zhaojun, a member of a submarine unit in the Eastern Theater Navy: Our sailors' living quarters are nine-person rooms, divided into upper, middle, and lower bunks, head to head, feet to feet, about 60 centimeters wide and less than 1.7 meters long. It’s impossible to stretch out your legs while standing, and lying down is extremely uncomfortable; to relieve it, you can only lie on your side and curl your legs. All the beds are foldable, and it’s very uncomfortable to sit normally; the table cannot fit, so you have to flip the bed up to sit here and eat.

Submarine operations in the deep sea are fraught with danger; reefs, ocean currents, mechanical failures, and more can all become deadly threats to the submarine. In the event of an emergency, young crew members can easily feel nervous and fearful.

Ren Zhaojun, a member of a submarine unit in the Eastern Theater Navy: When executing long-distance missions, the temperature, salinity, and density of the seawater can change abruptly; sometimes it’s a stratified change, and the submarine can suddenly drop from 80 meters to 100 meters very quickly. When I noticed the drop of more than 5 meters, I immediately reported it, and the entire compartment became tense, with sweat on my palms and forehead; it was really frightening. People panic, but you must strive to remain calm; you cannot let a mistake in my operation affect the entire crew.

This year marks the 16th year since Ren Zhaojun joined the submarine unit. He understands that his seemingly small position carries the weight of the lives of all crew members. Only by honing professional skills step by step can one ensure absolute safety.

Yang Shiqian, a member of a submarine unit in the Eastern Theater Navy: Comrades, this long-distance mission can be said to have been very successful. This is a letter we all wrote together before setting sail, and now that we are back, each team will take it back to distribute to individuals for safekeeping.

After completing the work at the dock, Ren Zhaojun is busy distributing letters to his comrades. Each time they carry out a readiness mission, the crew organizes officers and soldiers to handwrite letters home, detailing when they leave, what mission they are executing, and how long they will be gone. This information must be kept strictly confidential, even from their own families.

Ren Zhaojun, a member of a submarine unit in the Eastern Theater Navy: Of course, I have to be mysterious with my family. We have a military song that goes well, “Don’t ask me where I am; even if you ask, I can’t tell you.” I usually choose not to write too sentimentally, just leaving a short letter, preparing for everything. If I can’t come back, what will happen at home? Then I arrange some of my own affairs.

Every time he goes home on leave, Ren Zhaojun secretly hides these undeliverable letters in places where his family won’t find them.

Ren Zhaojun, a member of a submarine unit in the Eastern Theater Navy: I generally don’t let my wife see them; they are all hidden in a cookie box of mine. If she finds them while cleaning, I’ll let her see them, to show her the words I’ve saved for her over the years; it might be a surprise.

“There is no sunlight here, nor can we see the moonlight, only the constantly turning clocks, telling us that time is passing…”

Unlike Ren Zhaojun, Chen Gong, a first-class sergeant with 14 years of service, chooses to destroy the letters he wrote before leaving as soon as he returns safely.

Chen Gong, a member of a submarine unit in the Eastern Theater Navy: Every time I write, I feel quite depressed because the content is a bit different from normal letters home; I think this letter shouldn’t be kept.

As the Spring Festival approaches, Chen Gong’s wife brings their just-over-one-year-old son to visit, allowing the family of three to reunite.

Chen Gong, a member of a submarine unit in the Eastern Theater Navy: Every time I go to sea, I write her a notebook full of things. During my rest time, I write her letters, and after finishing a notebook, I give it to her.

Chen Gong’s wife: He has written three or four notebooks.

Each letter filled with deep emotions has become a gentle footnote in the lonely years. Since choosing to become a submarine soldier, it is a choice to silently guard and be ready to strike at any time.

Chen Gong, a member of a submarine unit in the Eastern Theater Navy: Although I have lived with the submarine for so long and we have gone to sea together, we really don’t know what it navigates under the sea and on the surface; in front of me are only my equipment, my machines, and my instruments. So we feel very close to its usual appearance. When we load torpedoes, we load them from here, and when we launch, we also open this cover to launch from inside. The only two things we can see on the surface are these. We can control them simultaneously, and we can launch one or multiple torpedoes.

In this submarine unit, the officers and soldiers seem to have only two states: fighting and preparing to fight. On the eve of the Spring Festival, the officers and soldiers preparing to set sail at the dock are busy again. Their Spring Festival has no sound of firecrackers, as silence is their norm.

Chen Gong, a member of a submarine unit in the Eastern Theater Navy: When we are on standby, at the sound of a command, we will strike first and launch torpedoes in the shortest time to destroy the enemy.