Plateau border troops brave heavy wind and snow in Tibet

By:chinadaily.com.cn
update:December 06,2018

Dec. 6, 2018 -- A border patrol soldier washes his face. [Photo/WeChat account of the army]

Dec. 6, 2018 -- For the past 45 years, a stationary Chinese regiment has been patrolling the border area, braving strong wind and heavy snow, at the foot of Qomolangma in Tibet autonomous region.

The sentry post, located at Gangba county, has an average altitude of 4,810 meters above sea level with more than 200 days of strong wind a year.

Dec. 6, 2018 -- Border patrol soldiers show their disfigured hands. [Photo/WeChat account of the army]

Wang Qiangqiang, a private, was stopped by a fellow sentry at the entrance to the regiment after being stationed in a sentry post for half a year because the harsh weather had transformed his appearance so much that even a comrade-in-arms failed to recognize him.

Something similar happened to Huang Li, a sergeant first class, whose fiancée began crying after arriving to the sentry post for her wedding and finding it very difficult to recognize her husband-to-be's disfigured face.

Dec. 6, 2018 -- Soldiers patrol the border. [Photo/WeChat account of the army]

The patrol route is not always smooth either, especially between November and April when the land is covered by ice and snow. Liu Fengjie, a sergeant first class, fell into an ice caving when his patrol team got lost in snow storm in 2015. He was saved by his gun which got stuck at the opening and halted his fall.