Guards endure extremes to keep border safe

Helping the locals

Zhang said, "It's all about taking people's problems seriously, no matter how big or small they are."

In 2017, an elderly woman from Beiji village visited the police station because she suspected that two ducks had been stolen from her shed.

Zhang and another officer pieced together surveillance camera footage to observe the ducks' tracks.

"It turned out that they had been killed by stray dogs after wandering onto the street. The woman told us that she really appreciated the efforts we had made to help her," he said. "Serving the locals is an important part of border defense work."

There has not been a major crime in the Beiji area since 2002, and the rate of offending is extremely low. However, the officers' workload increased significantly after the once-isolated settlement became the holy grail of "north seekers". During the peak season, it can receive 40,000 tourists.

The Chinese expression "Looking for the north" means seeking a direction, so many people decide to head to Beiji township to show that they have at least tried. Even the police station has become a tourist attraction because it is the most northerly in China.

In the past, the villagers mainly relied on the lumber trade to make a living, but tourism became the key source of income after 2014, when all commercial lumbering was banned in the Greater Khingan Range.

Danger

"The 'north seekers' have brought more income for us. But sometimes they put themselves in danger by underestimating what extreme cold can do," said Cui Yujie, a villager who provides bed and breakfast.

Wang Zi, an officer who has taken part in many rescue missions, said some tourists from southern China who have never seen snow before get overexcited and drive on snowy lanes in the forests, rather than sealed roads.

"If their cars break down, we have to locate them quickly so they won't freeze to death," he said.

More than 60 percent of the cases the station handles every year are related to searches for tourists, and over 100 have been rescued in the past two years.

"Some just don't think it's a big deal to cross the centerline of the frozen river for a few minutes to pose for a photo. I always tell them that such behavior will not be tolerated by the NIA officers," said Li Liang, a guide accompanying a group of tourists from the United States, who were sending postcards to loved ones at home.

In 2016, Zhang Yanbo became a member of the station in Beiji village, which has a history of more than 70 years.

"It's only since I started patrolling, passing one boundary stone after another, that I have realized what territorial integrity really means, and what people have done to protect it," said the 26-year-old, who grew up in a city.

"China's most northerly border area will be kept safe under our watch."