Introduction to Snowbound Island
At an altitude of 4,500 meters on the Ali Plateau in Tibet, in a “forbidden zone of life,” lies a place known as “the last place the sun sets”: Shibuqi. The average annual temperature here is below minus 10°C, and an eight-month mountain pass closure seals it off as a “snowbound island.” Oxygen levels are less than half those on the plains, yet this is home to the officers and soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army’s Shibuqi Border Defense Company, who guard it with their lives.
Written in a documentary style, this book offers a sweeping look at the daily border duties of the unit hailed as “guardians of the snowbound island.” They trek along perilous patrol routes, cross icy mountain passes above 5,000 meters, and traverse cliffside paths like “Tiger’s Mouth,” measuring the land with every step despite the threat of avalanches and mudslides. During the mountain closures, they endure shortages of supplies, relying on greenhouses to weather the snow and wind while carrying on the spirit of more than twenty comrades who gave their lives. They are like family to the local Tibetan people, writing a story of deep military-civilian bonds through the exchange of goods and celebrating ethnic unity in the Guozhuang dances of the Tibetan New Year.
From grueling struggles for survival to advances in modern equipment, from comradeship forged in life and death to a love of country that spans mountains and seas, Snowy Mountain Island is both a true portrait of border guards who “lack oxygen, but never spirit” and a stirring song of loyalty to “our magnificent land, where not an inch shall be surrendered.” It depicts the everlasting monument forged through the blood and youth of the people guarding the frontier in the new era.
