Ancient and desolate Himalayan , Gangdise Mountains and Karakoram Mountains stagger here. Here is the Northern Tibetan Plateau , known as the "roof of the world's ridge". In this place where there are no trees, no flowers and plants, no flying birds in the sky, and only the howling wind passes, he recorded the figure of a patrol soldier with affectionate lenses and brushstrokes...
His name is Liu Xiaodong, and this is the eighth year he carried the camera. The camera in the hand of
is poetry and far away
In December 2008, he joined the army from his hometown of Luhuo County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province with full enthusiasm. In 2010, he was admitted to the original Kunming Army Academy with excellent results. In July 2013, Liu Xiaodong, a student who was about to graduate from the former Kunming Army Academy, took the initiative to apply to come to the "forbidden zone of life" Ali Plateau to find the poem and far away in his heart.
The border post has more than colorful snowy scenery. The eternal wind on the plateau, the snow that has been flying in front of him, the lonely road is sticking to the dangerous valleys of thousands of feet, and the high and high Daban erects difficulties. The high cold and lack of oxygen constantly tests his physiological limits.
Liu Xiaodong interviewed
The night he worked overtime until late at night again.
Imperfection and confusion make this young man exhausted.
was about to turn off the computer and go to bed when I suddenly saw an article titled "So "I am unwilling to accept it"" which seemed to touch a certain mechanism in my body. Since we come, let's be content with it. What do he want to do...
altitude, oxygen content, "forbidden zone of life"... These words that others just read in textbooks, but use many plots that exceed our imagination to form the nameless border guards every day. He wanted to use words and images to record the nameless battle positions and unknown figures in Ali, Tibet, and record the new chapter of "Border Poems" reflected by the August 1st Army Emblem.
way is a sufficient extension, leading people to an ideal place to go.
Liu Xiaodong walked this road very hard. I don’t know how to write messages, don’t understand the “inverted pyramid”, don’t know how to do it after getting the materials, and even if I “scan the cat and draw the tiger”, I have many problems. Many people advised him to give up, but the touching on the patrol road made him persist...
Liu Xiaodong took photos of the front line of the plateau border at an altitude of more than 5,000 meters
"If you can't learn, if you can't learn, if you can't learn, if you can continue to learn." From then on, his mode of racing with moonlit night officially started. During the day, he and his comrades struggled and rolled on the training ground; at night, everyone was asleep, and he quietly came to the study room to fight at night. After some hard work, the debut work "Do you know how sweet the water in the border guard of the Zelan Tower is? 》 was finally completed. He submitted the manuscript to multiple platforms with confidence, but was rejected many times. He fell into serious self-doubt, with thick dark circles every day, unable to find the direction of his writing, and under high intensity load, his weight dropped sharply. Fortunately, I met an editor’s guidance, who changed from 2014 to early 2015. “Do you know how sweet the water in the border guard of the Zelan Tower is? 》 has finally achieved the quality that can be published. After the manuscript was published, Liu Xiaodong held his debut work and read it over and over again. He was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night. He held the manuscript in his arms and couldn't bear to put it down.
After tasting the "sweetness", his enthusiasm for writing has increased. On the other hand, the border news from his works is like the green of spring wilderness, vividly and warmly expresses and witnesses the border soldiers' understanding and interpretation of the distance and nearness, the suffering and joy, and the youthful atmosphere. Many of his works have been published in central-level media such as the People's Daily, the People's Liberation Army Daily, and the Legal Daily.
Don’t see you, the face of the border warrior
"How old are you?" During a patrol break, Liu Xiaodong asked the two soldiers beside him, "I am nineteen, he is twenty." After getting the answer, Liu Xiaodong was both surprised and distressed.
These soldiers around them are so young, but their faces and hands seem so "premature".Long-term strong ultraviolet rays have caused their cheeks to peel off and their faces to darken. Severe altitude sickness and lack of vitamins have caused their hands to wither and their nails to sink... If they had not joined the army, they should have been children who were willful and tantrums beside their parents. At this moment, they have shouldered the heavy responsibility of defending their country with their still tender shoulders and protecting the peace of the whole family.
"I'll take a picture for you." Hearing Liu Xiaodong's words, the young soldiers laughed shyly, and the flashes flashed, and this precious scene was recorded.
"Those who walk in shallow water see fish and shrimps, and those who enter deep water see dragons." Being a "soldier reporter" has never been an easy task. In the cold winter, he walked into the cold river water, squatted under the hot sun for several hours, and walked on the rugged road covered with snow for several hours with severe altitude sickness... Often, his clothes would be soaked in sweat, pressed against his back, and the cold wind penetrated into his collar, making him tremble...
But he never felt bitter because the road on the border was full of touch...
Liu Xiaodong stood in the bone-headed ice water of the cold winter and recorded the scene of officers and soldiers guarding the border
Once, Liu Xiaodong followed the convoy to a newly built duty point to transport supplies. It took more than 6 hours to drive 15 kilometers, and the vehicle traveled one way, and it took a long time to drive on rocky beaches and burrs. For the first time, I really felt that the car was jumping on the road and people jumping on the car... A brand new anti-skid chain , less than half of the distance was broken and it was unusable... When
arrived at the destination, the officers and soldiers at the outpost had already prepared dinner for everyone, and Liu Xiaodong almost finished the meal with tears. "He has walked on many places on the Ali Plateau. It is the most difficult place at present, no one!"
The border guards photographed by Liu Xiaodong
If it weren't for witnessing it with his own eyes, if it hadn't been experienced with his own eyes, I wouldn't believe that there was such a group of people closest to the sky. They would be difficult to meet the most basic living needs such as drinking a sip of clean water. What is drawn out of the turbid river is their only daily water. Whenever the faucet is turned on, the splashing water is mixed with some mud and sand, which hits their faces and Liu Xiaodong's heart... Because of this, every time he writes articles and takes photos, he will devote his most sincere feelings and demands the quality of each work with almost harsh standards.
Everyone doesn't know me, it's precisely the meaning of my existence
Purple-red skin, cracked lips, sunken nails... Over the years, he has given a certain pattern of unique makeup shared by the soldiers in the border, which has stirred warmth and touching the hearts of countless readers.
After the short video of the border guards
After the popularity of Liu Xiaodong, he began to study video shooting and production. The passionate melody from his office has become the best regulator for high-intensity training for his comrades. When he saw his figure in the video, he couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect that I was quite handsome when I was training. Next time I will make the movements more standard and strive to be more handsome." A hearty laughter resounded throughout the training ground.
After continuous efforts, Liu Xiaodong's achievements were recognized by the army leaders, and he was transferred to the military sub-district to specialize in news reporting. When he came to the new unit, he met more news seniors. After following them, he went to the border defense and went to the grassroots level many times, and his abilities were improved more and he was more actively integrated into the interviewees.
Liu Xiaodong photographed the officers and soldiers guarding the border
,000 miles of passes, wind swords and frost swords. The sunken nails, patrolling on the snow, drinking a stream together, and the extreme training at an altitude of 5,000 meters... He kept recording the desolate hills, snowy white sky, the blue sky, and the isolated outposts and camps in the mountains, are now so cute. I don’t know when they have already integrated into their bloodlines and become his unforgettable love.
Once, comrades said that you have been taking photos of us, and no one else knows who the author is? Liu Xiaodong smiled honestly: "Others don't know me, it's the meaning of my existence."
"I" exists to let more people touch the innocent feelings of border guards, and know that on the other side of the sky, there is a group of lovely people guarding...
Source: People's Daily Client Tibet Channel
