When Fu and his fellow soldiers arrived at the embankment, more than 300 hectares of farmland had been submerged by floodwaters.

"I am also from the countryside. Seeing so many fields flooded, my heart hurt," Fu said.

Fu and other soldiers patrol the embankment every day. They need to closely check each inch of earth to spot a potential leak on the dike.

After a heavy rainfall on July 20, Fu recalled, the soldiers found a leak on the embankment. They immediately started to use sandbags to block it.

"Each sandbag weighed over 20 kilograms. After carrying a dozen bags, my hands and feet felt weak and tired," Fu recalled. "And it was raining, I was totally drenched."

Fu said most days are sunny and the strong sunshine has left a lot of the soldiers sunburned.

"And the high humidity has caused many people to have eczema, leaving them itchy and achy. But no one slacked off in their duty", Fu said.

Despite all the hardship, Fu said all their efforts are worthwhile.

"The locals greet us with heartfelt kindness," said him. "Several local aunts from a nearby village visited our campsite one morning, bringing us zongzi (glutinous rice dumplings) they made overnight. When we ate them, we felt warm in the heart," Fu said.