New Year in the Military Camp | Under the Cold Moon at the Border, Guarding Thousands of Homes' Lights

On the eve of the Spring Festival, reporters visited multiple military units to experience the loyalty and responsibility of the border defense soldiers—

Under the cold moon at the border, guarding the lights of thousands of homes

■ PLA Daily reporter Wang Yue

Recently, soldiers from a border defense company in the Xinjiang Military Region were patrolling on horseback. Photo by Fu Yang

On the eve of the Spring Festival, in Nansha at night, the sea breeze gently blows, and a reef lies quietly on the sea like a new moon. In the barracks of the Navy's Nansha Zhuhai Reef defense unit, the sound of singing is loud and clear, as Corporal Wu Jiao Jiao is rehearsing the song "The Moon at the Border" with her comrades.

After the rehearsal, it was already late at night. Wu Jiao Jiao quickly organized her gear and walked briskly to her duty station. The cold moonlight and the bright red lanterns in the barracks cast long shadows.

“The moon in Nansha understands the weight of perseverance the most.” As a communications soldier, Wu Jiao Jiao's post is among the equipment and cables in the machine room. At this moment, she understands even more that guarding the island is guarding the country; national security ensures family security. Standing duty under the cold moon at the border is to allow more families to safely celebrate the New Year in the light.

While families are reunited, the soldiers are busy preparing for battle. For soldiers, the significance of the Spring Festival lies more in the commitment of “standing guard for the motherland and keeping watch for the people.” This commitment is spread across thousands of miles of border and numerous military camps—

In the vast desert, the biting wind is like a knife. The station is filled with warmth and the strong flavor of the New Year. Inside a radar station of the Western Theater Air Force, the screens flicker. The soldiers are fully focused, closely monitoring the air situation, sharpening their “thousand-mile eyes” to guard the country's air and space.

“The more significant the holiday, the more we must be on full alert, and we cannot miss a single air situation!” In front of the screen, Corporal Qin Yangsha is intently analyzing various data and information.

As the wind and sand pause, the moonlight spreads across the boundless desert. During a break in duty, Instructor Qiu looks into the distance, his tone firm and proud: “Air and space security is a mission as heavy as a mountain. We are rooted in the desert, using our loyalty to protect the peace of the motherland, always on duty and ready for battle!”

In the heart of Qiangtang, a sudden blizzard hits, and a section of the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway is severely snowed in, trapping over a hundred returning home. Following orders from higher authorities, a certain detachment of the Second Mobile Corps of the Armed Police quickly activated an emergency rescue plan. Corporal Long Shenghai drove the lead vehicle, braving the wind and snow towards the frontline.

The icebreaker cuts through the ice, the snow thrower clears the snow, and the snow removal vehicles and de-icing agents work in succession… In less than two hours, the soldiers opened a lifeline.

“This Spring Festival, the plateau wind and snow remain, but our belief in guarding the ‘Heavenly Road’ will never change.” As the snow stops and the wind continues, the clouds disperse and the moon rises. On the way back from the mission, Long Shenghai's words pierce through the cold wind: “For the reunion of thousands of families, we are always prepared.”

“To guard the rivers and mountains, to protect the peaceful years!” Soldiers from a certain company of the “Motuo Border Defense Model Camp” in the Tibet Military Region, executing armed patrol missions, loudly declare their heartfelt vows as they advance to a certain outpost at an altitude of 3,800 meters.

The reporter followed along, and when they successfully reached the top of the outpost, the lights of thousands of homes came into view: below, the beautiful county town was ablaze with lights, and the neon flickered, with traffic bustling; in the sky, a bright moon quietly peeked out from the clouds, illuminating the contours of the earth.

After the patrol, the soldiers returned to the barracks to rest, with the moonlight reflecting on their young faces. The reporter asked Private Li Yingguo: “Do you miss home?” Li Yingguo nodded but immediately said: “Where the heart is at peace, that is home. In the thousands of lights we guard, one of them is my home.”

Under the border moon, with feet on the border line. At this moment, the reporter deeply felt that the youth and blood of these young soldiers have long merged with the border line, transforming into a steel Great Wall that protects the peace and tranquility of the motherland and its people.

Once again, it is the New Year festival, and the vast border defense soldiers steadfastly hold their positions, writing the solemn vow of “With me at the border, the motherland and the people can rest assured” across the vast mountains and rivers of the motherland!