A tale of 3 generations and a train to Qinghai
Print Edition
Armed police officer Luo Changqiang said he cannot remember how many times he had watched trains roaring past the tunnel of the Kunlun Mountains.
Over the past 11 years, Luo, 30, has been serving in an armed police squad in northwest China鈥檚 Qinghai Province, responsible for ensuring the safe passage of trains at the 1.7 kilometer tunnel.
The tunnel is the world鈥檚 longest on a plateau permafrost and also a crucial mountain pass of China鈥檚 Qinghai-Tibet Railway 鈥 the world鈥檚 highest and longest plateau railroad.
The railway, the first connecting the Tibet Autonomous Region with the rest of China, has stimulated the development of the plateau region by bringing tourists, materials, and business opportunities.
In Hoh Xil in the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one sentry post of Luo鈥檚 squad is built at an altitude of 4,868 meters.
It is the highest stationary sentry post of the armed police force, and thus is called the 鈥減ost in the clouds.鈥
Family tradition
The average temperature at the post is minus 10 degrees Celsius, and the lowest temperature in winter can reach minus 40.
Encouraged by his father and grandfather who had once devoted themselves to the highland, Luo said he has been dreaming of coming here, despite the harsh environment and extreme weather.
Luo鈥檚 grandfather was a road mender who participated in the renovation of the Qinghai-Tibet highway between 1964 and 1974.
At that time, the road repairing materials had to be carried on workers鈥 shoulders for want of advanced tools, Luo said, adding that many workers died due to high altitude and poor medical conditions.
Luo said it took half a month for his grandfather to walk from Xining to the Tanggula Mountains, where he paved roads.
鈥淢y grandfather couldn鈥檛 explain the significance, but he believed that the road must be built.鈥
Such faith passed down to Luo鈥檚 father, who came to build the railway section linking Golmud and Lhasa in 2002.
Luo鈥檚 father said that he had witnessed a fellow worker faint from thin air and fall down from bridge piers.
鈥淚 want to accomplish the missions that my father and grandfather didn鈥檛 complete,鈥 Luo said.
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