During the Spring Festival, I had the honor to go to Xinjiang border to interview with Liu Xuan, a "post-90s" policeman at Ulandabson Border Checkpoint of Border Management Detachment of Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, and felt the hardships of being on duty on New Year's Eve.

On the same day, the temperature at the border was minus 18 degrees Celsius. Breathing in such a low temperature environment, I could feel the nasal cavity was instantly "frozen". Even if I wrapped up in a winter coat, I was still frozen and stamped my feet. Because it is New Year's Eve, there are few vehicles coming and going, and the occasional passengers are also in a hurry to hurry back to get together with their families.

During the conversation with Liu Xuan, I learned that "Ulanda Busen" is in Mongolian and means barren land. On the east side of the checkpoint is Ebinur Lake Wetland Nature Reserve, and on the west side are continuous mountains. The local summer is hot and the highest temperature can reach 40 degrees Celsius. Poisonous snakes and spiders are rampant, and insects and snakes hurt people every year; The minimum temperature in winter can reach minus 30 degrees Celsius, and there is a force seven or eight gale almost every day. The police are on duty outdoors against the wind and snow, and everyone's hands and feet are covered with frostbite.

Although there are few people and cars, Liu Xuan always asks his comrades in arms to stand guard by whenever there are vehicles passing by, and he checks the vehicles carefully. He proudly introduced to me on duty that the S205 line they were guarding was the only way to enter and exit the hinterland of Bozhou and Alashankou Port, which was equivalent to the "North Gate" of Bozhou. In 2014, Liu Xuan, who was also a border guard of the armed police, after careful inspection, found an antelope horn smuggling case worth more than 37 million yuan and won second class personal credit. In the Spring Festival of 2016, two lawbreakers tried to muddle through the festival, but were caught by the officers on duty.

With the deepening of the interview, the night is getting deeper and deeper. The red willow trees near the checkpoint have been covered with rime, and the barking of dogs and the sound of firecrackers in the dark set off the tranquility of the night. Liu Xuan asked several comrades on duty with him to take turns to rest in the room, while he always stuck to his post, rubbing his red hands and pacing back and forth to keep warm.

For Liu Xuan and his comrades in arms, the Spring Festival this year also has special significance: they were originally soldiers with armour, belonging to the former border defense forces of the armed police. According to the plan of the CPC Central Committee to deepen the reform of the party and state institutions, they were ordered to remove armour and change clothes on January 1, 2019, and transferred to the local people's police to continue the border defense cause.

In Liu Xuan's opinion, as the first Spring Festival after the reform of the army, although the military uniforms have changed, the duties of guarding the border have not changed. He needs to prove with practical actions that whether he wears green military uniforms or blue police uniforms, he will always guard the border. It was with this idea that he gave up his intention of going home again after four consecutive years without going home for the New Year, and stayed with his comrades in arms to stick to their posts.

Without going to the west of Kunlun Mountains, you can't know how hard the border is. It is hard for people living in the inland cities and villages to imagine that when the whole country celebrates the Spring Festival, there is a group of people who spare no effort in the ice and snow far away from their hometown to guard the peace of the border day and night, and exchange their small family's discord for everyone's reunion.

Liu Xuan is just a microcosm of the group of border guards. There are countless border police like him guarding the border silently on the Wanli border defense line in Xinjiang.

Among them, more than half of them came from provinces outside Xinjiang and east of Yumen Pass. At the beginning, with great enthusiasm, they left their hometown and relatives and came to the western frontier fortress. They took root in the desert frontier, stationed in the snow covered plateau, accompanied by the cold moon and cold stars, and accompanied by poisonous insects and beasts, and exchanged youth for peace and stability of the frontier defense.

During the reform of the army, they also had worries and hesitations, but once the order was issued, all people unconditionally and resolutely implemented, "one military uniform, a life of military soul", which is the true nature of soldiers. Now facing a distant return date, they are still holding on with no regrets. I believe that future generations will never forget their sacrifice and dedication for border peace.

On the way back from the interview, Liu Xuan sent me a WeChat message adapted from the oath of the night watchman in Song of Ice and Fire, which is the best portrayal of the border police:

When we change our armour, we are still firmly on the lookout;

We are sharp swords on the border and guards on the national gate;

We are the flame to resist the wind and frost, the light at dawn, the figure on the border, and the solid shield to protect the motherland;

We dedicate our life and glory to the frontier defense, once so, all our lives will be the same;

Pay tribute to these guards guarding the border of the motherland.

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