The Wakhan Corridor is located deep in the Pamirs and is an important part of the ancient Silk Road.
This important passage borders Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and China, and its geographical location is very important. A border defense regiment of the Kashgar Army Division of Xinjiang, the Kekturuk Border Defense Company, is stationed here all year round.
"Everyone, fasten your saddles tighter to ensure safety!" On September 24, at the beginning of the morning, the stables of the Kektoruk Border Guard Company began to lively, and a horse-riding patrol mission was about to begin.
Sergeant Ma Xiaolong prepared his horses nervously and orderly, and kept reminding the young soldiers about the precautions for patrols.
Kektoruk, Tajik meaning "place where flowers bloom", the name is very beautiful, but when you really come here, you will find the endless Gobi Desert and continuous snow-capped mountains.
The company’s station has an average altitude of 4,300 meters, is extremely cold and lacks oxygen, and the annual average temperature is about minus 10 degrees Celsius. It is a veritable "life restricted zone."
On September 25, 1949, Xinjiang was peacefully liberated.
Four years later, the People's Liberation Army's footprints were left here, and the company was established.
Although it was only autumn, the station had already begun to snow and the chill was getting thicker.
On that day, the officers and soldiers patrolled the point 23 kilometers away from the company. Because of the snow in the past few days, they could not patrol by car, so the officers and soldiers began patrolling on horseback and on foot.
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"Go!" Following the company's instructor Zhu Zhengyi's order, this patrol team embarked on the patrol road facing Zhaoxia.
The 23-kilometer patrol journey can be reached by high-speed rail, subway, or car on the plain. The company officers and soldiers patrol this border line on horseback, and it takes a whole day to go back and forth.
The harsh natural environment made the Kektoruk border defense company a little out of touch with modern civilization.
For a long time, newspapers and letters arrived at the company more than 10 days late.
In 2018, the company's outpost at an altitude of more than 4,700 meters ended the history of diesel power generation, and the outpost was officially connected to the large power grid.
In 2019, the 4G network signal has finally extended here.
At the end of last year, the national defense highway was paved to the door of the company, and the officers and soldiers went down the mountain and finally bid farewell to the torture of the "washboard road".
"The more critical the period, the more we will increase our patrols to ensure the safety and stability of the front line of the border." Zhu Zhengyi on horseback introduced that after the veteran retired, there were fewer people in the company, but the officers and soldiers were all energized. Undertook the heavy patrol task with no regrets.
The company's outpost gradually blurred in sight, and the patrol team entered the deep mountain canyon.
The towering snow-capped mountains on both sides came into view, the snow line was very low, and the mist was floating in front of you, seeming to be within reach.
The UV intensity here is four times that of the plains. Zhu Zhengyi has only served in the company for more than two months. He has been tanned with dark complexion and purple lips. He looks vicissitudes of life. In fact, he is only 30 years old this year.
"Plateau skin cream is just a psychological comfort for us. It doesn't work much when it is wiped. Now we don't bother to wipe it." At this point, the officers and soldiers laughed.
Zhu Zhengyi dreamed of working from the regiment headquarters at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters to a frontline job at the frontier defense at an altitude of 4,300 meters. However, when he really arrived at the Keketuluk Frontier Defense Company, he realized what "the pressure is high and the mission urges the army."
"The harsh natural environment is a challenge, but the biggest test for me is the complicated border situation here." Zhu Zhengyi said that the company is responsible for the defense mission of more than 100 kilometers of border line, with multiple countries on the front line, the task is arduous, and there can be no mistakes.
The horse team is marching in the snow. Ma Xiaolong, an 11-year-old soldier, said that this is the second horse patrol since the beginning of autumn. Although there are assault off-road patrol vehicles, on such roads, the vehicles are easy to stall, and horse riding is still impossible. Lack of patrol methods.
Zhang Yang, the superior soldier in the team, was a novice, and his horsemanship was taught by Ma Xiaolong.
"When I first learned to ride a horse, I didn’t miss it. This horse also had a temper. I knew I didn’t know how to live." Zhang Yang said with a smile. ', but now I have a good relationship with my buddy Taxue!"
On this inaccessible patrol road, Ma Xiaolong saw what it means to "get more people and it becomes a road."
However, the situation on the road is constantly changing, "This time it is a smooth road, and the next time it comes back, it may become a natural danger."
While talking, a comrade's horse stepped on the marmot hole and fell directly on his back.
Ma Xiaolong hurriedly jumped off his horse to help his comrades up. While helping to slap the snow on his body, he said that there were potholes under the snow, so wrestling horses was a "common meal" for the company's officers and soldiers.
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Behind Ma Xiaolong's "homely meal" is a true portrayal of the soldiers who have overcome numerous difficulties and challenges and have taken root in this snowy frozen soil.
Faced with the huge gap in the living environment, not everyone can adapt quickly.
Among the young fighters, Zhang Yang is relatively quick to adapt to the environment.
Compared with Zhang Yang, Wang Lihui's adaptation period can be regarded as a "rebirth from the cocoon."
Wang Lihui is a Cantonese, and he has never seen snow before joining the army.
The cold climate of the snow-covered plateau is no small test for him.
He also had the idea of fleeing, thinking that "coming here is a wrong choice, I just want to leave here quickly".
For this reason, he once secretly sent a text message to his father: "Dad, I might disappoint you. It's too hard here. It's completely different from what I imagined."
It wasn't until his father told him, "I came here in the same way back then. The days on the sidelines are the accumulation of growth. As long as my heart calms down, everything will feel meaningful." Then Wang Lihui gradually dispelled the idea of escaping.
Wang Lihui's father used to be a plateau car soldier, and he traveled around the Ali plateau and the Pamir plateau all the year round to transport supplies.
He has heard his father tell stories about border guards since he was a child. In his mind, his father is the representative of border guard heroes.
Every day in front of the border, Wang Lihui is unforgettable.
Standing guard, patrolling duty, military training... When he first started to stand guard, because of lack of oxygen, Wang Lihui's face often turned purple.
Standing guard at night, there were waves of howling wolves in the valley, which made people feel hairy.
"I just came to the company for the first week, just in time for the lack of water, and there is no need to wash my face. This kind of hardship was unimaginable at the beginning." Wang Lihui said.
Changes are happening quietly.
"I'm fine now. I have already passed the adaptation period, and I am integrated with the snow-capped mountains and checkpoints." Wang Lihui said with a smile.
I don't know how long it took, a snow mountain blocked the way.
Everyone dismounted, tied their horses, and prepared to patrol the remaining 3 kilometers on foot.
Looking around, the snow-covered Daban slope is 45 degrees, and it is called the "Slope of Despair".
One summer, when officers and soldiers patrolled here on horseback, they suddenly encountered a mudslide disaster. The horses were frightened, and the soldiers were dismounted. The situation was very dangerous. "Life and death are in an instant."
"The most shocking thing here is the glacier, but it is a bit terrifying." Corporal Yu Qiang in the team introduced that there are countless abrupt ice cones hidden under the thick ice.
Walking on the glacier, accidentally stepping through the melting ice layer after the sun, you will either be filled with a shoe-piercing snow, or step on the ice cone, making your feet painful.
"In our eyes, the glacier is the'Ghost Gate'." Yan Jianyong, the fourth-ranking sergeant commander who has defended the company for 16 years, said that it was on this life-and-death patrol that some comrades gave their lives.
On one patrol, while crossing a steep cliff, Corporal Wang Xinfu suddenly slipped and almost fell off the cliff.
Li Jianyang, the instructor at the time, stepped forward and grabbed him.
In the early morning of July 7 this year, the company's corporal and drone operator Shuai Jiahong fell to the post on duty due to a sudden cardiogenic shock. After the rescue failed, he was unfortunately sacrificed, and his life was fixed at the age of 24 forever.
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After traveling on the glacier for less than half an hour, Yu Qiang's lips were already purple and black.
The severe altitude sickness makes people have headaches and heartbeats.
However, in the eyes of the officers and soldiers, mountain high roads are also beneficial, because here you can often see scenery that others cannot see, such as snow leopards, argali, and wolves, all of which are "frequent visitors" on the border line.
Yu Qiang, breathing heavily, turned around and looked at the snow-capped mountains ten kilometers away while resting and said, "Overlooking the snow-capped mountains is the happiest thing for me to guard."
For Sergeant Xu Yaoqiang, one of the most unforgettable things about guarding the border was seeing snow lotus during the patrol.
Snow lotus grows between 4800-5800 meters above sea level between high mountains and rock slopes and gravel close to the snow line. It was once praised by the Tang Dynasty frontier fortress poet Cen Counselor as "the Wonderful Flower of the Western Regions", and it is usually difficult to see.
Last spring, Xu Yaoqiang and his team patrolled a spot more than 5,400 meters above sea level. On the way, the officers and soldiers met the holy snow lotus at a hillside.
"The snow lotus is not tall and looks a bit like cabbage. But the plant is beautiful, not afraid of the cold, standing proudly on the snow-capped mountains, covering the cold mountains with spring." Xu Yaoqiang recalled.
Stationed in this cold and barren land, officers and soldiers are often warmed by care from afar.
In March of this year, when the company received supplies and training equipment from the regiment headquarters, Yu Qiang discovered that there were two special packages in the supplies, which contained 86-year-old Zhao Zhongfu from Anyang, Henan, mailed to the soldiers. More than 40 hand-knitted scarves.
With joy, Yu Qiang took out the scarf from the package, and passed them to each other with his comrades, feeling the deep warmth.
After a long trek, the patrol team finally reached the foot of the glacier at an altitude of 5420 meters.
Seeing the crystal clear pristine glacier stretches across the boundary line under the blue sky, a majestic and magnificent sense of pride emerges spontaneously.
Above the snow-capped mountains and under the blue sky, the five-star red flag fluttered in the wind. The officers and soldiers carefully wiped the stele body and painted the boundary stele with the red paint they brought with them.
"This is a restricted area of life, but it is the most beautiful place in our hearts." Zhu Zhengyi said.
"After graduating from the military academy, I will come here again for defense!" Not long ago, a superior soldier in the company was admitted to the military academy. He left such a sentence when he left the company.
Why do officers and soldiers nostalgic for this "no flowers", desolate border line? What does the plateau bring to young officers and soldiers?
The words of the post-90s and post-00 officers and soldiers of the company answered the doubts in people’s minds: "During the days when I was on the border, I learned to be responsible, patient, and understand that suffering is to make up for. The value of life is reflected day by day. Stick to it."
"As a border guard, thinking that he is protecting the peace of the motherland and the happiness of the people, I feel that no matter how hard it is, no matter how tired it is, it is worth it!"
"Although the Pamirs cannot see green all year round, the tree of our soul is evergreen and the flower of growth always blooms."
"The towering snow-capped mountains are shocking. But the mountains are high and artificial, and our border guards are stationed at the snow-capped checkpoints. With us here, the motherland will be peaceful and peaceful."
"This is still the cradle of talent growth." Zhu Zhengyi said that in recent years, many soldiers in the company have become cadres and special police officers in Xinjiang, 12 soldiers have been admitted to the military academy, and more than 60 soldiers have obtained various skill certificates.
Returning from the patrol, the sky is full of stars.
Before dinner, the officers and soldiers sang "When That Day Comes" loudly.
Zhu Zhengyi said that no one hopes that "that day" will really come, or that all the efforts of the officers and soldiers are to avoid "that day" coming.
But the officers and soldiers have a firm belief in their hearts: never keep the territory small, never lose the sovereignty.
"Who said Kektoruk has no flowers?" The officers and soldiers of the company said, day after day, year after year, we guard the border line of the motherland, accompany the snow-capped mountains, dance with the cold wind, and everyone’s hearts are full of sunshine. , "Ketuluk has no flowers, we are the'flowers' blooming here."
Hu Zheng Source: China Youth Daily