The white ice and snow have brought development and lit up dreams, and behind these there is a group of people who have silently contributed to the security of the motherland's borders. Next, let's get to know the edge guards in the snow and ice. Beita Mountain is the boundary mountain in the northeast of Xinjiang and the only passage connecting the northern part of Xinjiang to the Altai Mountains. In order to defend this territory, over the past 70 years, several generations of XPCC members have been patrolling the border, dancing with the wind, stepping on ice and snow, and guarding the lights of thousands of homes and the safety of one side with faith, will and loyalty.
Founded in 1952, the North Tower Mountain Ranch is bordered by the Altai Mountains in the north and the Haptik Mountains in the southeast, with a maximum altitude of 3,287 meters and a patrol border of nearly 70 kilometers. All the duty points of the ranch are located in the tuyere area between the two mountains, and there are often winds and snows in winter and summer throughout the year.
When we arrived at the first duty point at the foot of Beita Mountain, the border guards were preparing to set off, because the heavy snow had just stopped for several days, and the road up the mountain was blocked by wind and snow.
Gao Wei, Commander of the Beitashan Ranch Cavalry Company of the Sixth Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps: The weather is about minus 30 degrees Celsius, and we can't use our horses for a long time during our usual patrols. Because it is easy to get sick and catch a cold after sweating after a long time of riding, we specially modified such a car, and when we really had to use a horse patrol when the road conditions were really impassable, we changed it to a horse patrol.
The border guard told reporters that in the case of good weather and smooth roads, it takes about 4 hours for a car to patrol, and in bad weather, the time and difficulty of patrolling the border will be greatly increased.
Li Jinfu, head of the armed forces department of the Beitashan Ranch of the Sixth Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps: If we encounter strong winds, winds and snow, we will patrol in a combination of men and horses. In this case, the time for us to patrol the whole line is about 10 hours, if we encounter a time when our horses can't pass, especially in bad weather such as wind and snow, we take the way of human patrol to cross the mountains and mountains.
When patrolling the line in windy and snowy weather, the edge guards will also drive forklifts and snow pushers, and once the road is blocked by snow, they must clear and walk at the same time.
Serihazi Martin, border guard of Beitashan Ranch of the Sixth Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps: This road was pushed two days ago. The wind was strong, and today it was snowing and windy, and it was blocked again, blocking more than 30 kilometers.
Due to the heavy wind and snow, the road could not be dredged in a short time, so everyone decided to find a relatively flat place to unload the horses and ride the horses to complete the rest of the road.
From the first duty point at the bottom of the mountain to the last duty point on the mountain, the snow gets thicker the further you go, and some duty points are completely buried in snow.
Reporter Cui Ning: Look at how thick the snow is, the height of this house is about 4.5 meters, and now the thickness of the whole snow is level with this roof, and the whole house is buried by snow.
Muhamat Maxuantikhan, border guard of the Beitashan Ranch of the Sixth Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps: This house used to be occupied by people, but then the wind and snow were too big to live in, and people could not come in until the snow was cleared. We usually take a look at it when we patrol the border on horseback, and it is safe to have someone on the border.
I came to see every day, every place, and one generation after another patrolled the border. At present, 40% of the border guards in this group of Beita Mountain Ranch are young people under the age of 35. The 24-year-old was the only woman in the team. After graduating from university, she could have stayed in the big city to be a well-paid veterinarian, but she chose to return to her hometown of Beita Mountain Ranch and became a border guard.
Bezhiyek Harawa, border guard of the Beitashan Ranch of the Sixth Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps: Because our ancestors have been here for generations, I am now walking the same path that my grandfather and my father walked. I don't think it's hard work, and I won't give up so easily.
The higher the altitude, the lower the temperature, the heavier the wind and snow, the sun turns yellow, the snow fields are vast, and every step is extremely difficult for both people and horses.
Muhamat Mutibek Maxuantihan, border guard of Beitashan Ranch of the Sixth Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps: Many of them have stones and pits, and you can't see the road at all. When we couldn't see the road, we led the horses. We brought everything we fed, weeds and dry food to feed the horses, and the water we drank, and the water was frozen, and when it was cold, we found a place to shelter from the wind.
When the reporter left the Beita Mountain Ranch, the patrol members started a new day of patrol. 70 kilometers is not long, but it is full of their uncomplaining and unrepentant figures, on the North Tower Mountain, year after year, with footsteps to measure every inch of the country, with the years to test the same loyalty, generation after generation of border guards, guarding the boundary monument, guarding the border of the motherland.