The story of three generations of soldiers guarding the border: Hou Quanfeng and the persistence of the 185th Regiment

This is not a no-man's land. In the past, it was one of the border guard areas with the worst natural environment in the country. Every June, the Arakbek Valley is humid and steaming, and mosquitoes and small bites are everywhere. During the peak period, there can be up to 3,700 mosquitoes and thousands of mosquitoes per cubic meter of space. The tiny mosquitoes are everywhere, and birds passing by are often bitten and fall down.

This is the northwestmost part of the motherland. Three generations of soldiers have been stationed here for generations and call this border their home. Hou Quanfeng is the narrator in this popular video and the most special "border spokesman" in this hot border land.

"The environment is so miserable and the mosquitoes are so fierce, but three generations of us still stick to this place, because every inch of land here belongs to China!" This is a sentence that Hou Quanfeng often talks about.

Hou Quanfeng is a native son and daughter of the Corps. His father was the first generation of corps pioneers who took root in the wilderness. Back then, there were no fertile fields, no houses, and no roads. The older generation braved the wind and sand, and braved the severe cold and heat to open up wasteland and set up camps to guard the border. They turned the desert deserts of the Gobi into homes and turned the uninhabited land into a stable border defense.

When she became an adult, Hou Quanfeng followed her family to participate in the management and protection of the border area, and she understood the weight behind the word "border defense" early on. She chose to take root here and worked as a waiter in a guest house, a cashier in a plumbing company, and a cashier in a community, road administration, and tourism company.

The belief of guarding the border, guarding the territory, and serving the country has long been integrated into Hou Quanfeng's growth trajectory.

When asked, "Why are generations of people still willing to stay here if the conditions are so difficult?" Hou Quanfeng said, "There must be someone to protect this place. If we don't come, others will come." The reporter was speechless for a long time.

After retiring in December 2015, she chose to stay in the 185th Regiment and became the guide for the regiment's Baisha Lake Scenic Area and the first border line of the Northwest Frontier Company. Unlike ordinary tour guides, her explanations are not only about the mountains and rivers, but also about the mountains and rivers of her country.

"Protecting the motherland's border defense line in such an environment is a mission engraved in our bones. And telling these stories and passing on this persistence and responsibility is the responsibility of the 185th Regiment." Hou Quanfeng told reporters.

Every summer, the sweltering heat, buzzing insects, and flying disturbances are the background of the 185th Regiment. In this land where ordinary people don't want to stay for a long time, the Corps members who have been stationed here all year round have been stationed here for generations and call the border their home. We have long been accustomed to living with mosquitoes and wind and sand.

As a local border interpreter, she must be fully armed when working in the summer. A heavy anti-mosquito hat and airtight protective clothing are standard daily equipment. Even with layers of protection, the exposed eyelids and neck are still unable to escape bites.

The sweltering heat of the summer combined with the sweltering heat of the protective clothing, and the mosquitoes lingered around. After the explanation, she was often soaked, but she was already used to it. Hou Quanfeng has already carved this bitter cold territory into his bones, blood and faith.

Whether you are an incoming tourist or a front-line border worker, you must be fully armed when going out. Wear a tight anti-mosquito hat, thick protective clothing, and tightly wrapped cuffs and trousers to leave no gaps from head to toe.

"Do you know? If the flood in 1988 had not blocked the situation, the place we are standing now may not belong to China." Hou Quanfeng finished speaking, leaving the reporter who was recording stunned for a moment.

According to records: In the spring of that year, the Arakbek River suddenly experienced a severe flood that had not happened in a century, and the river bank burst. According to international practice, when river courses are changed, national boundaries will shift, and the land faces the risk of changing ownership. The cadres and workers of the 185th Regiment fought hard for 16 days and nights with supporting forces from all parties to defend the country. Hou Quanfeng, who was only 23 years old at the time, was the one who experienced it.

"My family lives at the end of the road. The boundary marker is at the back of the house. I grow crops by the boundary river and graze sheep and cattle by the border." This widely circulated saying in the local area is a true portrayal of the production and life of the employees of the 185th Regiment.

Walking on the border trail of the 185th Regiment, Hou Quanfeng took tourists from all over the country to visit all the local red spots. She lost her frailty, her eyes were firm, and she told the story of the 185th Regiment's border defense with sonorous words: telling the story of the older generation of regiment members who bid farewell to their homeland, took root in the Gobi, and reclaimed land and built homes in the desolate wasteland; It tells the story of generations of border guards who are not afraid of mosquitoes and severe cold, patrolling the border day and night, and adhering to the borders of the motherland. It tells the story of countless ordinary soldiers who regard their homes as sentinels and the borders as their homes, and spend their lives guarding the tranquility of mountains and rivers.

When arriving at the "First Company of the Northwest Frontier" - the 1st Company of the 185th Regiment, four sentences engraved on the stone tablet in front of the company headquarters made the reporter awe-inspiring: "The conditions of the country are endless, the people of the regiment are unbeatable, the border defense line is unbreakable, and the soul of the army is unbreakable."

There are no gorgeous words in Hou Quanfeng's explanation, only the truest persistence and the purest love. She passed on the spirit of the Corps people who are not afraid of hardship, selfless dedication, and loyal border guarding to tourists from all over the world through her words and deeds, allowing more people to see the difficulty of the northwest border and understand the sincerity and responsibility of the border guards.

She took tourists through boundary monuments, border patrol roads, and former border garrison sites, and told the true story of the Corps' people fighting mosquitoes, fighting sand, and guarding the border in a plain but firm voice.

She will tell every guest who comes from afar: Every tree here is artificially planted; every inch of land here has been protected by generations of people; this place may seem desolate and lonely, but it is a corner of the motherland that must not be lost.

Times have changed on the northwest border where wind, sand and mosquitoes were once intertwined. Today, the natural environment of the 185th Regiment has been greatly improved, with green waters, green mountains and beautiful people everywhere.

But Hou Quanfeng continued to tell the story of the original aspirations of three generations of border guards over and over again to tourists from all over the world. She wants more people to know that behind the stable border of the motherland is the silent support of generations of Corps members.