High altitudes give policemen higher spirits

Officers stationed in the Pamirs take pride in protecting borders, aiding herders

As one drives toward the Paiyike Border Police Station, they can enjoy the majestic view of snowcapped mountains.

At the foot of the mountains is a vast land filled with sand, stones or sallow grass, where yaks are occasionally seen grazing. Puddles glittering in the sun in late March served as a reminder that winter was coming to an end.

Summertime starts in May in this part of the Pamirs, when local herders travel with their livestock to pastures inside the Wakhan Corridor, a narrow valley that stretches from Afghanistan to the Tashkurgan Tajik autonomous county in China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.