Moonlight Shines on Tianshan

She could have followed the usual path in Linjiang City, working as a prosecutor and waiting for a respectable wedding.

But she called off her engagement, signed up, and set off for the windswept frontier eight thousand li away. The person who was supposed to meet her never came.

Some said that volunteering in Xinjiang was just a way to pad a resume. She was determined to plant trees.

A dead forest of desert poplars led to a massive case involving a major taxpayer. A Uyghur woman targeted by online abuse taught her that the law needed teeth, but also a human touch.

Zhou Yuan said, "You come for three years and then leave. We have to stay for a lifetime."

Later, he said, "When the desert poplar saplings grow past your knees, marry me."

This is a story about leaving and returning, and about the countless people who volunteer in Xinjiang and stand guard along the border.