In another instance, officers waded through floodwaters to rescue a worker trapped by a mudslide, tying a rope around one of their own before entering the current.

"These are not decisions you think about for long," Li said. "You just go."

Many of those now working alongside the police grew up in the same villages they serve. Some are border wardens, responsible for monitoring stretches of terrain that remain inaccessible by road.

Wang Shirong, 49, has been patrolling border markers for more than 30 years. The routes he follows run through dense forest, where paths disappear quickly and landmarks shift with the seasons.

"There's no fixed road," he said. "If you don't go for a few months, everything is covered by plants again."

The work is dangerous — falling rocks, deep mud, leeches and the constant risk of getting lost. The pay is modest — just 500 yuan ($73.5) a month. But Wang said that was never the point.

"When you see the word 'China' on the marker, you forget how tired you are," he said.

He plans to continue until he no longer has the strength, then pass the responsibility to younger members of his team.

For those who left and returned, the changes are even more striking.

Jiang Bin, now a deputy Party chief of the township, remembers a childhood of dirt roads, dim houses and limited supplies. "Back then, we lived very simply," he said. "Mostly on what we grew ourselves."

Today, incomes have risen, housing has improved and younger generations are more connected — to education, to markets, to the outside world.

"The biggest change is not just material," Jiang said. "It's people's mindset. In the past, geographical isolation made villagers shy around outsiders. Now, many run small businesses, showcasing local specialties to tourists."

Yet challenges remain. The region is prone to landslides and floods. Its terrain limits large-scale development. Maintaining stability, officials said, is still the foundation for everything else.

"The police station has always been part of that foundation," Jiang said. "Without stability, none of this would be possible."

Back at the station, Zhang sees his role as part of a much longer chain.

The uniforms have changed over the years — from border troops to immigration police — but the expectation has not. Zhang said, people working in the township carry both the weight of the journey behind them and the distance still to go.

"People before us built the road, the schools and the way of working," he said. "We not only need to continue their achievements but also think ahead of the people and provide more service."

That continuity is not always visible in dramatic moments like a five-day patrol. More often, as the officers mentioned, it is found in routine: a visit to remote villages, a document processed, a quiet conversation at someone's doorstep.

yangzekun@chinadaily.com.cn