Police find work in mountains of Yunnan meaningful

A policeman stationed in Yangla, in the north of Yunnan province, helps local farmers plant seedlings. [Nie Xiaoji/For China Daily]

Motorbikes have replaced horses for patrols of remote area

Rgyalpo Phuntshogs hasn't showered for over 20 days. He sets out at around six every morning and returns home after eight at night after patrolling the mountain that climbs to an altitude of more than 4,000 meters in Yangla, the town in the north of Yunnan province he calls home.

Bordering the Tibet autonomous region to the northwest and Sichuan province to the northeast, the town is located amid the complex ridges and plunging valleys and gorges of the Hengduan Mountains. But while living in the mountains may sound peaceful and tranquil, it also means a lack of electricity and clean water, no internet or communication with the outside world.

Rgyalpo Phuntshogs, 23, is a member of the local police team that has been stationed in the town since the 1960s. He's assigned to patrol the mountain every day and make sure villagers do not get involved in disputes with people on the other side of the provincial border.

When the police station was set up, there were no paved roads, just pebbly mountain tracks, and police got around by taking turns riding a single horse. For more than 30 years, that's how they climbed the rugged hills, spending at least 10 days shuttling from Yangla's southernmost village to its northernmost.

Now, over half a century on, motorbikes have replaced the horse, and paved roads lead straight to the nearest city, Shangri-La. There's also new energy at the station, where the average age is just 27.

Seven young police officers and five assistants are now in charge of the Yangla area, which covers more than 1,000 square kilometers and includes four villages, 1,024 households and 7,195 residents.

Their daily tasks are not chasing down robbers or solving break-ins and murders, but looking for missing livestock or helping out in the fields.[page]

An officer checks a driver's license. [Li Yulin/For China Daily]

"It's not just solving big criminal cases that makes you a policeman," said Dongrub Phuntshogs, the police chief. "We are a people's police force, so we always serve the people."

Dongrub Phuntshogs recalled how a villager once rushed into his office, looking very tense and anxious, to report that his yak was missing. Officers set out immediately and spent four hours following the yak's tracks into the mountains before finally finding it. "The villager almost burst into tears with joy when we returned the yak, and it was at that moment that we felt very rewarded," Dongrub Phuntshogs said.

The area's remoteness and steep terrain make fresh food a rarity. Vegetables need to be transported from other areas and supplies may be completely cut off when blizzards or landslides obstruct roads.

"I have already tried every single flavor of instant noodles," said Bkrashis Phuntshogs, a policeman assigned to examine vehicles on their way to Sichuan and Tibet.

Yangla sits amid the complex ridges and plunging valleys and gorges of the Hengduan Mountains. [Li Yun/For China Daily]

The assignment also involves danger. The police post, on the edge of a cliff, is just a tent and it's buffeted by strong winds every March and April. "Sitting in the tent is like sitting on a pirate ride," Bkrashis Phuntshogs said. "I feel like I could be blown away at any minute."

The roads are constantly threatened by rockfalls or landslides. But the police motorbikes have roared along them for more than 20 years.

"I will stay here in Yangla," said Dongrub Phuntshogs, who has spent eight years at the police station. "Our previous police officers managed through patrolling on horseback, and now it is our responsibility to pass that spirit on."

Zhang Yangfei contributed to this story.