Visiting the National Guard of the Silk Road： Hiking on the plateau is equivalent to carrying 30 kilograms on the flat land.

　　Officers and men are on duty at Hongqila Fudaban at an altitude of 4,733 meters. Photo by Ji Wenzhi

　　At the end of May this year, our reporter (second from left) followed the officers and men of the frontier defense company of Hongqilafu on duty for an interview. The picture shows the reporter communicating with the officers and men during the duty break. Photo by Yue Xiaoping

　　The officers and men of Hongqilafu Frontier Defense Company rode yaks across the glacier on duty. Photo by Ni Guanghui

　　West! West! West!

　　Driving all the way to the west from Kashgar airport in Xinjiang for more than 400 kilometers, running over the frozen soil of snow-capped mountains and crossing the ice peak to Daban, Hongqilafu is just around the corner.

　　This is a dangerous, mysterious and desirable place. There are thousands of miles of ice peaks, thousands of years of snow, and the towering Pamirs; There are ancient silk roads, bloody canyons and desolate western borders. There are cloud gates, snow mountain checkpoints, and lovely border guards.

　　Founded in 1949, Hongqi Lafu Frontier Company has been responsible for the defense of the China-Pakistan border for nearly 100 kilometers all the year round, with the highest patrol point exceeding 5,800 meters above sea level. They also guard the highest national gate in the world — — Hongqilafu Port.

　　Ice Peak, Snow Valley, National Gate, Boundary Monument, Youth … … The officers and men of the frontier defense company of Hongqilafu, a frontier defense regiment of Xinjiang Military Region stationed here, sprinkled their blood on the patrol road filled with snow and snow, made youth a solemn boundary marker on the border of the motherland, and continued to write a song of youth for contemporary soldiers on the Pamirs.

　　Plateau hypoxia

　　But never lack of spirit

　　Hongqilafu, Tajik means "blood-stained channel". The average altitude here is more than 4,700 meters, with snow all year round, the oxygen content in the air is only 46% of that in the plain, the wind force is above 7 or 8 all year round, the annual average temperature is 3.3 degrees Celsius, the lowest temperature is MINUS 43 degrees Celsius, and the cold season lasts for 8 months.

　　Walking in the land of Hongqilafu, every breath will remind you of the importance of life. Living and working here requires not only survival ability, but also strong belief and willpower to support it.

　　Hongqilafu is a daunting place for the weak and a fertile ground for the spiritual growth of the strong — —

　　In the 1950s, the company’s older generation of frontier guards took root in the Pamirs with the heroic spirit of "three-humped camel with a pot and three wooden sticks to build a nest and store ice and snow as water to drink". For decades, generations of people guarding the border have listened to and followed the party, and their faith in loyalty to the country and guarding the border has always been rock-solid.

　　In the cold winter of that year, platoon leader He Yu led three soldiers to the border to perform a task, and when they returned, they were besieged by a snowstorm. When the rescuers arrived, they only saw four silent "ice sculptures", holding steel guns and keeping forward in the direction of the company.

　　In the early autumn of that year, Yang Bo, then the company commander, accidentally fell off the cliff while exploring the road on the cliff. Fortunately, he was blocked by a prominent boulder and fell into a coma on the spot. The comrade-in-arms carried him down the hill, and the first sentence Yang Bo asked when he woke up in the bumps was: "Have you reached the point yet?" Knowing that he was being sent down the mountain, he struggled to get down from his comrades’ backs and led everyone to climb to the top of the mountain.

　　Before marking the boundary pillar, Yang Bo painted the boundary pillar with a brush and paint. At that time, comrades-in-arms took off their hats and saluted and sang a chorus: "Hongqilafu is very high, and Hongqilafu is far away. Our place is called the border pass, and the boundary pillar trees are in the clouds … …” The majestic duet echoed in the ice peak and snow valley for a long time and became the eternal memory of officers and men.

　　"This is the power of faith." With a splitting headache due to altitude sickness, the reporter stuck an oxygen straw in his nose and listened to the story of the officers and men of the border defense company telling the story of guarding the border. Young officers and men have simple words and are not good at expressing emotions, but they have repeatedly moved reporters to wipe their tears.

　　Be at the border

　　Tight string of combat readiness

　　"Lack of oxygen is not lacking in spirit, and the altitude is higher and the standard is higher." Being in the company, the reporter really understood the meaning of this sentence. When boarding the Hongqilafu post, the reporter was panting at every step. Some people have calculated that walking on foot is equivalent to carrying 30 kilograms on the flat ground, and the difficulty of training intensity can be imagined.

　　恶劣的自然环境，没有成为连队降低训练标准的借口。尽管官兵不时地提醒记者走路要慢些，而上了训练场，他们个个像小老虎，敢打硬拼。官兵们在一次次极限挑战中，练就了“守得住、打得赢”的过硬本领。

　　“海拔再高高不过使命，生命有禁区备战无盲区”“不仅要守得住，更要打得赢”……“身处边防，使命重大，坚持战斗力标准，就要按照习主席的要求，‘保持箭在弦上、引而待发的高度戒备态势’。”连长杨映伟说，“我们就是祖国的眼睛，什么时候都要睁得大大的！”

　　为应对严峻复杂的边境防控形势，连队坚持加强应急处突演练，提高应对突发事件的能力，始终保持良好的战备状态。他们还协调武警、驻地派出所、民兵，每月举行边境防控、潜入潜出等联合演练……如今，一丝风吹草动、一点异常响动、一张陌生面孔，都会被官兵敏锐捕捉，迅速作出反应。

　　一次，驻守国门附近的红其拉甫前哨班列兵杨建刚上岗时，发现路旁停放着一辆皮卡车。他透过车窗发现，车内空无一人，车座上放着几件军装。他顿时警觉起来，立即向哨所报告。

　　Liang Chao, the instructor at that time, led three soldiers to come quickly. Suddenly, a man got into the car, started the car and turned around and ran. Instructor Liang immediately informed the company to start the military, police and civilian defense plan. In less than 7 minutes, company officers and soldiers, resident militia, and armed police officers and soldiers set up checkpoints at several roads at the same time. Twenty minutes later, the escaped man was captured. Later, it was learned that the man was a suspect and attempted to cross the border as a soldier.

　　In the past three years, the company has been the first in the group for more than ten times in the emergency readiness assessment. When Yang Jun, the head of the regiment, inspected the company’s combat readiness, he praised: "The soldiers of the Hongqilafu border defense company are like loaded bullets, always ready to attack!"

　　Mountain high road insurance

　　Stick to every inch of land

　　"I would rather let my life overdraw than let my mission owe." This sentence is not only a loud slogan in the border defense company of Hongqilafu, but also a true portrayal of officers and men performing their missions with their lives.

　　In September last year, the company commander Yang Yingwei led the soldiers to ride yaks and embarked on the annual routine patrol of Wufu Langgou.

　　The duty station of Wufu Langgou is known as the "Valley of Death". Every time the patrol officers and soldiers have to climb over 8 ice and snow Daban with an altitude of more than 5,000 meters, they have waded into glaciers for more than 30 times, and it takes at least 4 days to go back and forth for hundreds of kilometers. This is the only patrol line in the whole army that can only ride yaks with good endurance and walk on a cliff because of the high mountains and dangerous roads.

　　Glaciers and wading beaches. Every time I walk in Wufu Langgou, it is a test of life and death — —

　　Once, the patrol team arrived at the Koehler Qinghe River in Mizoguchi. When the military doctor Yang Haibo rode a yak to the middle of the river, a big wave swept him into the middle of the river, and even people and cattle were washed out of more than 300 meters, and finally he was rescued by his comrades in the downstream;

　　Once, the squad leader Ji Wenzhi slipped off the yak and almost fell off the cliff; Warrior Wang Fulong almost fell into a deep valley to avoid flying stones; Camping at night, then instructor Wang Lie lit his coat to fight the wolves; Wading into a glacier, the border guard Garedin fell into the river and was washed out more than 200 meters away … …

　　Another time in the early morning, when the patrol was camping, it was surrounded by wolves. A dozen pairs of green eyes stared at the camp, and the low hissing roar made the sentry creepy. The officers and men gathered together, lit the bonfire, kept pulling the bolt and confronted the wolves all night. It was not until dawn that the wolves dispersed, and the officers and men rushed to the next point without taking a rest.

　　In the past ten years, officers and men have been threatened by mudslides, blizzards, hail, avalanches and wild animals for nearly a hundred times on patrol. More than 30 officers and men have fallen into glaciers, valleys and snow pits, and 15 yaks have fallen off cliffs and died on patrol.

　　One thrilling story made the reporter jumpy. However, patrolling in Wufu Langgou is the common wish of the officers and men of the company. They said that only after experiencing the "warrior’s sign" can they be considered as excellent soldiers in the border defense company of Hongqilafu.

　　Cherish one’s home country

　　Youth always stays at the border.

　　Purple skin, chapped lips, sunken nails … … Here, the harsh natural environment gives the border officers and soldiers a common and unique makeup. Officers and men take off their caps, and there is a high hairline on each young face — — Hair is sparse. When they reach out their hands, sunken and deformed nails make people feel distressed … … Due to lack of oxygen and vitamins, most officers and men suffer from altitude diseases such as hypertension and ventricular hypertrophy in different degrees.

　　Only when you are stationed at the border can you understand your country better. Overcoming all kinds of discomfort caused by cold and lack of oxygen, officers and men carved poems of caring for their home country and selfless dedication on the glacier snow mountain.

　　In 2010, Master Sergeant Zhang Hongshun received the news that his mother was critically ill. At that time, the company was carrying out a major task. Zhang Hongshun, who had been defending for many years, silently walked out of the company gate. On the empty plateau, facing the direction of his hometown, he kowtowed three times to his mother.

　　The silent dedication of the officers and men of the company has also been cared for at all levels. Since the 18th National Congress, the working and living environment of the company has been greatly improved. Nowadays, officers and men live in new barracks, get oxygen from their beds, eat fresh vegetables and use long-term electricity.

　　“看云彩，看云彩，光秃秃的哨所也有乐趣在。大雪能封住山，封住了路，封不住士兵多彩的情怀……”

　　团政治处主任陈柏涛说，这是官兵最爱唱的歌曲《看云彩》。都说红其拉甫连有一种神奇魔力，是一个听了不敢来、来了却不愿走的地方。这首动听的歌曲，不就是对这种神奇魔力的注解吗？

　　“在激情奋斗中绽放青春光芒。”如今已是红其拉甫会谈会晤站副站长的王烈对记者说，习主席的这句话，就是红其拉甫边防连官兵的青春写照，这里不仅是干部成就事业的舞台，也是战士实现青春价值的好地方。

　　“永远忠于祖国，永远忠于界碑”……高原的艰苦环境改变的不只是他们的外表，也锻造了战士们忠诚无言的强大内心。

　　多年来，红其拉甫连牢记党和人民重托，忠诚戍边、甘于奉献，被中央军委授予“卫国戍边模范连”荣誉称号，连续12年被表彰为“基层建设先进连队”“边防执勤先进单位”，先后荣立集体一等功5次、二等功6次、三等功8次。

　　（陈金财、王雪振参与采写）