At altitudes above 4,000 meters in Dechen county, Yunnan province, blazing sunshine can quickly give way to fierce winds and heavy snow. For Li Chunlei, a multimedia journalist and video director at the county media center in Diqing Tibetan autonomous prefecture, such unpredictable conditions are a familiar part of his work.
One memorable assignment took him deep into the mountains with the "Red Horse Caravan Service Team", which delivers medicine and daily necessities to people collecting caterpillar fungus in remote areas.
With members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) forming its backbone, the team established a temporary Party branch at a site more than 4,000 meters above sea level. Using horses and carrying supplies on their backs, members transported 300 kilograms of goods along an 87-kilometer route that reached an altitude of 5,100 meters, serving 115 residents.
Li and a colleague followed the team on foot for seven days, filming members crossing valleys and climbing steep slopes. At night, they slept in wooden shelters or tents. The resulting documentary won first prize at the Yunnan Journalism Awards.
The challenging journey gave Li a deeper appreciation of the dedication required to serve people in such remote areas.
Over the past decade, Li has traveled through villages and mountain communities, from Badi and Yunling to Yangla and Benzilan, documenting local life and the landscapes of Baima Snow Mountain and Meili Snow Mountain. His reporting has brought him into contact with firefighters, forest rangers, villagers and inheritors of traditional culture. But it is the Party members who have spent years serving isolated communities who have left the deepest impression.
"During my years of reporting in rural areas, I've seen many Party members put down roots on the plateau and dedicate themselves to serving local people," Li said. "Their commitment deeply moved me."
Their example, along with the changes he witnessed in his hometown, inspired Li to join the Communist Party of China.
These experiences have also shaped his understanding of the fifth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, held in Beijing from Oct 26 to 29. The session adopted a resolution on persevering with full and rigorous Party self-governance, emphasizing the need to strengthen Party spirit, improve conduct and tighten discipline.
Li sees the importance of these efforts reflected in changes in rural governance. He said information about public welfare subsidies and village development projects has become more transparent, while residents now have more accessible channels to seek assistance.
"In the past, some villagers didn't know where to turn when they had a problem," he said. "Now there are channels for them to raise their concerns, and their problems can be addressed more promptly."
Li believes journalism can contribute to this process. Beyond documenting local development, he sees his role as reflecting residents' concerns and helping strengthen grassroots oversight through objective reporting on village affairs.
He plans to keep taking his camera into remote villages so that more residents' stories can be heard.
Leading by example
While Li documents the dedication of those serving mountain communities, Shang Yingchun has spent the past decade protecting residents of the neighboring Xizang autonomous region.
Now political commissar of the Zuogong brigade under the Nyingchi mobile fire and rescue detachment, Shang oversees Party building, political education and disciplinary management.
After graduating from the China Fire and Rescue Institute in Beijing, Shang chose to serve in Zuogong county, where towering mountains, deep valleys and difficult roads make rescue operations particularly challenging.
Firefighters often must carry heavy equipment up steep slopes while coping with thin air and unpredictable weather.
During a cross-regional firefighting operation near the border, Shang's brigade traveled about 1,800 kilometers along National Highway 318 over two days before spending 10 days and nights battling a fire.
For four nights, the firefighters camped in the mountains, facing dangers from wild bears, burned trees and falling rocks. Shang said containing the blaze was essential to protecting the lives and property of people in nearby villages.
"The oath we take when joining the Party is not something we recite only once," Shang said. "We have to live up to it in our daily work and rescue operations. When danger arises, Party members should take the lead."
Such experiences have shaped Shang's approach to leading his team. He said the plenary session's emphasis on Party spirit and discipline reinforced the importance of rigorous management, particularly in remote areas where demanding missions require close coordination.
But he also believes building an effective team involves more than enforcing rules. Young firefighters need to understand why their work matters and whom they are serving.
He recalled a new recruit who struggled to adapt to the high-altitude environment and strict routines, showing little enthusiasm for training or political study. Shang wanted to help him understand the people his work was meant to protect.
Rather than relying solely on disciplinary measures, Shang and his colleagues spoke with him regularly and took him on village fire-prevention visits and frontline assignments.
After some missions, residents gathered to thank the firefighters, presenting them with hada, traditional ceremonial scarves, as a gesture of appreciation.
These encounters gradually changed the recruit's attitude. He became more engaged in training, volunteered for assignments in remote areas and eventually applied to join the CPC.
"Watching him change from being uncertain and reluctant to taking responsibility on his own initiative showed me what education can really achieve," Shang said.
For Shang, the experience reinforced his belief that effective leadership involves not only maintaining discipline but also helping young people develop a sense of responsibility and purpose.
Putting people first
Helping others build better futures is also central to the work of Wang Yuxin, political instructor at the Pingyuan border police station under the Dehong border management detachment in Yunnan province.
After arriving in Dehong in 2011, Wang initially handled paperwork for residents, some of whom had to travel long distances to obtain documents.
Later, as a community police officer, he began visiting families in border villages, where residents often welcomed him into their homes. These encounters taught Wang to see problems from the residents' perspective and deepened his understanding of public service.
"We need to roll up our sleeves and make a real difference in people's lives, while allowing them to oversee our work. Both are essential," he said.
In 2012, Wang began an online charity initiative to connect donors with disadvantaged children in border communities. He has since received the "China Good Person" honor and the Yunnan Youth May Fourth Medal.
He remembers meeting a boy whose father had died of illness and whose mother had remarried, leaving him and his sister without parental care. When Wang asked about his future, the boy said he wanted to become a doctor.
"When he said that, I could feel tears welling up in my eyes," Wang recalled. "I just thought about how difficult life had been for these children."
Wang later found donors who could provide monthly financial support for the boy's education.
Over the years, encounters like this have changed his understanding of what it means to help others. He came to realize that encouragement can be just as important as material assistance.
"At first, I thought it was mainly about solving their immediate problems, perhaps giving them new clothes or helping them obtain financial assistance," he said. "But later I realized that encouraging them emotionally was even more important."
Today, Wang and his colleagues regularly visit the students they support, talking with them about their studies, aspirations and challenges.
After 15 years in Dehong, Wang no longer sees the border region simply as a place where he was assigned to work.
"I've devoted my youth to a place where my country needs me," he said. "Now I regard the border region as my hometown."
guojiatong@i21st.cn
