A Chinese submarine captain finds his life's work below the waves, Yan Yiqi learns in Ningbo, Zhejiang province.

To regular people, the idea of a submarine might be of a fantastic journey with Captain Nemo at the helm, as described by French writer Jules Verne in his book Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. But for Hua Ming, a submarine represents the responsibility of guarding the country and also a lifelong love.

"In the first 18 years of my life, the ocean had nothing to do with me," says Hua, who has served in China's submarine unit for 23 years. "But from the day I joined the navy in 1991, my whole life was mixed into the ocean."

During his six years as a submarine captain, Hua has completed dozens of important military missions covering a total cruising distance of more than 100,000 nautical miles.

"It is my honor to battle for my country and my people. We should always be well-prepared," he says.

The 41-year-old is not a man of many words when speaking about his personal achievements, but on topics related to submarines and battle tactics, Hua becomes very talkative.

He can recognize every type of anti- submarine craft owned by major countries in the world. He can name every reconnaissance satellite that is working in the skies, or about to be launched. Soryu-class submarine of Japan, Sindurakshak submarine of India, Kursk of Russia - their performances and accidents are all in his mind.

Hua's profound and thorough knowledge in his own field helps him to complete difficult tasks.

During an international joint drill in 2012, Hua and his submarine received a mission to dodge four foreign anti-submarine ships and one helicopter in a narrow area.

"Put it in simple terms, the possibility of our submarine being discovered is 99 percent. Regular tactics can hardly win the battle," says Hua.

Hua decided to hide the submarine in an area with the most complicated underwater environment - where it was also the most difficult to operate the submarine.

Hua waited deep under the sea until a merchant ship passed out of the drill area. Using the noise made by the merchant ship as a cover, the submarine successfully escaped the foreign search web.

"The passing of a merchant ship might be a coincidence, but hiding under the sea with high temperatures and high pressure for dozens of hours showed our perseverance," he says.

When submarines are hiding under the sea to wait for breakthrough opportunities, air-conditioners are shut off to both save energy and avoid making sound. Temperatures inside the submarine can be as high as 38 C, with nearly 100-percent humidity.

In his peers' eyes, Hua is just crazy about submarines.

Li Panjin, officer in charge of sonar operation, still remembers the first day Hua came to the fleet in 1999 after he graduated from the People's Liberation Army Navy School of Submarine.

"I have been serving in the navy for 33 years, and Hua was the first to come to me for reading materials and books on the first day of arrival. The notes he had taken from those materials can pile up to at least 2 meters high," Li says.

Li says one part of the submarine once had a mechanical failure during its eight-day mission. Because no one else on the submarine was able to fix it, Hua spent 24 consecutive hours in the malfunction area, trying to fix the problem.

"The temperature was 40 C, and he just sat there, with technical drawings and five of his notebooks scattered around him. His sweating made him look like he just came out of the water. This is a scene that I will never forget," he says.

Because Hua has devoted his efforts to submarines and the ocean, he gets to spend little time with his family.

"Our relationship started in an old - fashioned way of matchmaking," says Che Lili, Hua's wife. "The matchmaker told me that he would be away at work on weekdays and we can meet during weekends, and I thought it was acceptable," she says. "However, it was not the situation at all."

Che says her husband came home only once or twice a month last year. His total days at home were no more than 30 days in 2013, she complains.

"Due to the confidentiality of his job, I never know when he is out on mission and when he will come back," she says with a deep sigh.

Che says that after more than 10 years of marriage, she is used to his absence from home. But she still hopes he can return more frequently for their son.

"He often says that a soldier's son should learn to be brave, but how can our son be brave enough when he, as his father, is always absent?" she says.

Though Hua spends so little time at home, he and his son still share a close bond.

Before departure, their 12-year-old son secretly put an illustrated edition of Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne in his bag. The book is now lying on Hua's bedside.

"In Verne's novel, the world under the sea looks so romantic. However, when we are cruising under the ocean, there is only endless darkness," he says.

"The darkness deep in the ocean is where my faith and my loyalty lie," says Hua.

Contact the writer atyanyiqi@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily USA 04/09/2014 page9)