Cavalry guards stretch of rugged border area

China's only horse riding patrol division attracts new recruits in remote township in northwestern corner of Xinjiang

When Mareyam Ahmat attended her first equestrian show in her home county of Baicheng in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in August last year, she was captivated by its blend of strength and grace.

It only took a month to pass for the 20-year-old, who graduated with a degree in computer science in 2023, to make the bold decision to try out for the horse-riding border control cavalry that hosted the event.

The calvary unit, the nation's only horse-riding cavalry, is located in Baicheng's Laohutai township and patrols a stretch of the border in northwestern Xinjiang with neighboring Kazakhstan. Horses are necessary for these patrols due to the rugged and extreme terrain that has an average altitude of 2,000 meters.