Garrison the Changbai Mountains

“Millennium snow accumulates, ten thousand years of pine trees stand; rising straight to the first peak of the human world.” Located in southeastern Jilin Province, Changbai Mountain is the highest peak in Northeast China. It is renowned worldwide for its magnificent peaks, lakes, waterfalls, and snowy scenery, captivating visitors.

Changbai Mountain is also a border mountain, with a winding boundary line that snakes through the mountain. Over the years, immigration management police at the Changbai Mountain Border Management Detachment have taken the mountain as their neighbor and the boundary as their responsibility. They have left footprints on mountain trails, in dense forests, and through snow and wind, persistently guarding peace day after day.

Snow Sea Island

In the coldest days of winter, despite the bright sunshine, snow and hail still fall at the Vidong Border Checkpoint near an elevation of nearly 1,700 meters. After sweeping, the yard’s ground quickly turns white again. Outside the gate, the small cabin used for cooking during non-snow seasons is buried more than half a meter deep in snow.

Vidong means safeguarding the eastern border of the motherland. This checkpoint is located on the southern slope of the western part of Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve, about 5 kilometers from the China-North Korea border, in an area with no one around for dozens of miles.

Changbai Mountain’s winter is cold and long. Snow begins to fall in September each year and only melts away in May of the following year. The vacant space beside the cooking cabin reveals a stream of water, which is the usual water source for the police officers. “The water quality on the mountain is quite hard, with many minerals. Drinking it for a long time can cause hair loss,” said police officer He Ziwei, who has worked here for 14 years. He jokingly pointed to his noticeably receding hairline, saying, “When I first arrived, I could still part my hair.”

He Ziwei recalls that when he first arrived at Vidong Station, everyone lived in collective dormitories, heating with firepits in winter, and fetching water from a small river in front of the station. Now, the barracks have electric heating and tap water, but the environment remains harsh. “This snow season, the snow at the station was over 70 centimeters deep at its thickest. When opening the door in the morning, you first have to jump out through the window and then shovel the snow in front of the door,” He Ziwei showed photos on his phone, revealing a vast white expanse.

Due to the high altitude, Vidong Station often becomes a “snow sea island” in winter—supplies are transported periodically by vehicle, but heavy snow can block the mountain, affecting resupply. Therefore, their refrigerators or outdoor cold storage boxes are always stocked with food to handle emergencies.

The border line managed by Vidong Station is long, and patrols take three to four hours at a minimum, sometimes half a day. In summer, mosquitoes are numerous, and after a patrol, faces and hands are covered with bumps; in winter, snow can be knee-deep, requiring sunglasses to prevent snow glare and tape to tightly wrap pant legs around combat boots to prevent snow from entering. After a patrol, boots and socks are often soaked. In the coldest times, stepping out for a short while causes eyelashes and hat brims to frost over.

“Shoulder-to-shoulder Forest,” “Snowfall Cliff,” “Heavy Snow Cliff,” “Little Ice River”… These place names are not on any map but are given by the police officers. They know every steep slope, icy spot, and hidden pit on the western slope of Changbai Mountain by heart.

During winter patrols, officers are most alert to footprints suddenly appearing in the snow. “One is the footprints of wild animals like Siberian tigers and leopards, which need to be recorded promptly, and measures taken to prevent attacks; the other is footprints of unknown persons, possibly poachers, treasure hunters, or adventurers,” said Zhao Kunze, head of Vidong Border Checkpoint. “No matter which, we must ensure border security and ecological safety.”

One afternoon, police officers at Vidong discovered two suspicious individuals during patrol. When they saw the police car, they ran into the woods. The snow was waist-deep, making both parties struggle to run. The suspects were familiar with the terrain, weaving around in the woods and even crossing the road in an attempt to cut off their trail. The officers split up to pursue, and about ten meters across the road, they found faint footprints again…

The chase lasted nearly four hours. As dusk approached, they finally cornered the suspects on a firebreak. The two could no longer run and collapsed in the snow, gasping for breath. Confronted with traps, ropes, knives, and other items seized from the suspects, they admitted they intended to set traps based on animal footprints after the snow, aiming to catch roe deer or wild boar. If they hadn’t been caught during patrol, they might have succeeded.

Thousand-step Staircase

Starting from Vidong Border Checkpoint, about a 20-minute drive along a mountain road leads to the Tianchi West Slope Parking Lot at an elevation of 2,200 meters. Here stands the Xijing Scenic Area Police Office—a blue and white container building. It is the highest-altitude, coldest, and most complex police station in Northeast China, only 800 meters from the China-North Korea Boundary Marker No. 37.

To reach the Tianchi viewing platform, one must climb 1,442 steps along a 900-meter-long staircase, with a vertical drop of over 200 meters. Considering the altitude and round-trip factors, higher authorities have arranged for officers from Vidong Station to take turns on duty here, making multiple trips up and down this steep staircase daily.

“Where there are scenic spots, there are police; where there are police, there are scenic views,” said the police officers. During summer, tourists start climbing at 3 a.m. to see the sunrise at the top of Changbai Mountain; officers arrive even earlier. In winter, they accompany visitors to enjoy the magnificent sunset until the last tourist leaves safely.

Years of dedication have earned the police station the affectionate nickname “Blue and Red.” The blue refers to the message book on the service desk, thick and filled with thanks in various languages; the red is the numerous banners of gratitude hanging on the wall.

The police office is small but well-organized. There is hot water and ginger tea in the hot drink area, charging stations with power strips and power banks, a medical kit with oxygen bottles, antihypertensive medicine, quick-acting heart medicine, and an AED defibrillator. A TV on the wall shows real-time images of Tianchi—transmitted by a camera installed by the team.

“Tourists come from afar just to see Tianchi, but some are elderly or unwell and cannot climb up, leaving them with regrets,” said Officer Yang Hang. The police station has specially prepared this TV so that less able visitors can “dream online.” They have also obtained several exoskeleton assistive devices to help visitors with limited mobility climb the mountain.

Officers on duty at the viewing platform face many questions daily: “How do snowmobiles work?” “What time is the sunset?” “Where is the best spot for photos?” During peak times, they answer hundreds of questions in an afternoon. Popular photo spots are crowded, and officers stand by to maintain order, reminding visitors to avoid pushing, slipping, or falling. “Looking for kids, wallets, phones, cameras, or resolving disputes among tourists—I and my colleagues run up and down those 1,442 steps all day. My legs are exhausted,” Zhao Kunze said.

Unexpected incidents happen frequently. One winter, a tourist from Jiangsu suddenly collapsed on Tianchi viewing platform. Officer Xin Yi ran over to help, noticing the tourist’s face was pale and he was clutching his chest, having a history of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Xin Yi and He Ziwei carried him down the steps, taking turns to run, not daring to stop.

Back in the station, a blood pressure check showed it was very high. The officers gave him antihypertensive medication and oxygen. After half an hour, the tourist gradually recovered. He then held Xin Yi’s hand and said, “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have made it down the mountain to the hospital.”

Such incidents happen every year. Once, an elderly person suddenly had a heart attack midway up the steps. The officers used an AED to perform on-site defibrillation, and after the person regained consciousness, they carried him down to the hospital. Doctors said if not for the immediate defibrillation, the person might have died.

Zou Wei, a police officer who has been at the station for four years, has participated in several rescue operations. “The environment here isn’t like low-altitude areas. During peak tourist season, people come and go constantly, and all officers have emergency medical skills,” he said.

National Highway Gateway

The Qingshuihe Border Checkpoint, located beside G331 National Highway, is one of the busiest border checkpoints in Jilin. As a crucial gateway for entering and leaving Changbai Mountain, last year it inspected over 200,000 vehicles and more than 500,000 people.

Officer Liu Fei has worked here for 18 years. Standing by the inspection channel, he can spot suspicious vehicles at a glance. “Look at that car with a license plate from another province—despite the cold winter, it’s not fitted with snow tires, and there’s no luggage inside, just a small carry-on. It doesn’t look like a tourist, more like someone with ‘business’ to handle,” Liu Fei said. Some drivers are overly friendly during inspections, asking about patrols or probing for information, possibly acting as ‘scouts’ for illegal vehicles. Others avoid answering questions about residence or give inconsistent answers, indicating possible identity issues.

“Four looks and four recognitions” is a core rule ingrained in border officers. They verify documents with facial recognition, observe appearance and accent to determine nationality, analyze vehicle routes and luggage to understand purpose, and inspect goods for anomalies. Even subtle irregularities are hard to miss.

Two years ago, during a routine video patrol at dawn, Liu Fei noticed a cold chain truck parked 8 kilometers from the checkpoint for nearly two hours, while a small car repeatedly came and went near the checkpoint. Something felt off, so he reported it immediately.

At 2 a.m., the truck approached. Officers stopped it for inspection. The driver looked nervous and evasive. “What are you carrying?” they asked. “Seafood,” he replied. “Do you have quarantine certificates?” “Forgot to bring them.” “Customs declaration forms?” “No.” “Purchase receipts?” “No.” Under firm questioning, the driver finally opened the refrigerated compartment, revealing over 70 tons of seafood. The vehicle was seized and handed over to the police station. Later investigation confirmed the seafood was smuggled in illegally without proper documentation.

Over the years, the Qingshuihe Border Checkpoint has handled many cases: 19 illegal cigarette transports, 2 illegal crossing attempts, 7 foreign nationals involved in “three illegal” activities, one smuggling case, and one wanted person caught online.

As time passes, working conditions at the checkpoint have improved. The earliest inspection sheds were manually operated with iron poles, requiring officers to hold umbrellas in rain. Later, temporary modular units were used. Now, a double-lane, four-vehicle inspection shed equipped with facial recognition, license plate recognition, and ID verification systems is in place. Liu Fei said, “In the past, inspecting a bus took half an hour of manual registration, making passengers impatient and drivers honking. Now, facial recognition takes only a second, and we can instantly check for wanted persons.”

Traffic volume has also increased significantly. In earlier years, the station inspected about 100,000 vehicles annually; now, it exceeds 200,000. Passenger flow has more than doubled. Last year, before the G331 border tourism corridor was expanded and opened, the entire 1240-kilometer route connected ten counties and cities, 216 border villages, and 45 scenic spots rated above 3A. “The road is open, more people are coming, and the border is lively. We must guard diligently and promote border economic and social development,” said Guo Ziqi, the station’s instructor.

During Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day, the border police patrol constantly. They measure loyalty with their steps, pass warmth with their hands, and protect peace with their perseverance. Their stories are reflected in spring flowers, summer rain, autumn wind, and winter snow, engraved beside solemn boundary markers and shining on visitors’ smiling faces.