Modernization Doctrine

Where There Are People, There Is the Position: After Several Blizzards, They Press Forward to Higher Ground

人在阵地在，他们在几场暴雪过后向更高处挺进

PLA Daily (解放军报) 8 June 2026

Summary

A PLA radar detachment, led by Political Instructor Wang Xun and including driver Zeng Feng, conducted a high-altitude deployment through blizzard conditions to an unnamed elevated position, erecting and operating radar equipment after a vehicle breakdown en route. The article documents the operational problem of sustaining radar coverage in extreme-altitude, low-oxygen terrain — specifically the physical degradation of personnel and equipment at altitude — and fits the recurring PLA pattern of using narrative political work to frame hardship endurance as a readiness virtue. Its narrow value is as a baseline record of how the institution frames high-plateau ISR persistence to junior enlisted personnel.

Translation

Pressing Forward to Higher Ground

■ Xu Ruiying

In the high-altitude no-man's-land, rutted roads and gale-force winds laden with grit forced the already slow-moving convoy to slow down yet again.

As the "vanguard" (排头兵) of the unit entering the mission area, Political Instructor Wang Xun led the detachment's officers and soldiers forward, traveling from the glow of ten thousand lights into a landscape of utter desolation. The hardship and exhaustion need not be elaborated.

As the altitude rose degree by degree and the temperature fell degree by degree, driver Zeng Feng felt distinctly that the vehicle was "moving slower" even at the same speed. His rough hands gripped the steering wheel without letting go, and the foot pressing the accelerator bore down with a little more force. He had not counted how many bends he had rounded or how many steep slopes he had crested—he only wanted to go faster, faster still.

With only a few dozen kilometers left to the rest point, Zeng Feng's vehicle broke down. He and his comrades got out, flashlights in hand, to make repairs. The fierce wind cut at their faces like a blade, and their nasal passages felt as though stuffed with cotton, leaving them perpetually short of breath. Minute by minute the time passed, and at last they worked together to fix the vehicle and press on. By the time they reached the bivouac site, the sky was thick with stars.

After several blizzards, in order to complete the mission to a higher standard, the detachment's officers and soldiers resolved to press forward to higher ground.

Sunlight fell directly on the ice, as though scattering countless shards of ice crystal. They crossed the ice surface, traversed the mountain passes (达坂), and when they reached the steepest slope, the vehicles swayed from side to side, nearly tipping onto their sides. Upon arriving at the designated position, everyone, heedless of altitude sickness, moved supplies and erected the radar without pause; the white vapor of their breath was kneaded by wind and snow into the high plateau.

The radar antenna rotated. Inside the shelter vehicle (方舱), operators stared intently at their small screens, searching for targets amid the flow of signals, weaving a tight "sky net" (天网). Through close coordination across every station, the mission was completed successfully.

"Where there are people, the position holds; where there are people, the antenna turns; where there are people, the intelligence flows!" (人在阵地在，人在天线转，人在情报通) In the setting sun, they smiled with pride. The "plateau flush" (高原红) burned onto each of their faces by wind and frost shone just as brilliantly as the light falling on the snow-capped peaks.

Original Chinese

向更高处挺进 ■徐瑞滢高寒的无人区里，坑洼的路面和裹挟着沙砾的劲风，令本就行驶缓慢的车队不得不再度放缓车速。作为进驻任务地域的“排头兵”，指导员王汛带着分队官兵一路向前，从万家灯火走到了满目荒芜，艰辛与疲惫不必多言。随着海拔一点点升高、温度一点点降低，同样的行车速度，却让驾驶员曾锋明显感觉“走得慢了”。他那双粗糙的手，始终牢牢握着方向盘，踩下油门的脚又增加了些力气。他没数过自己已经拐过了多少道弯、翻过了多少个陡坡，只希望能快一点、再快一点。距离休整点只剩下几十公里，曾锋的车却出现了故障。他和战友一起下车，打着手电筒检修。烈风刮得脸生疼，鼻腔也好像被棉花堵住了似的，总让人觉得喘不上气。时间一分一秒过去，他们终于齐心协力修好车、继续向前。等到他们赶到驻扎地，天空已是繁星点点。几场暴雪过后，为了以更高标准完成任务，分队官兵决心向更高处挺进。阳光直直地打在冰面上，像是无数粒碎冰晶洒落。大家过冰面、翻达坂，行至最陡峭的坡时，车辆左右摇晃，几乎侧倾。等到达预定阵地，大家不顾高原反应，一刻不停地搬物资、架设雷达，呼出的白色哈气被风雪揉进了高原。雷达天线旋转。方舱内，操纵员紧盯着方寸荧屏，在信号流转中搜索目标，密织“天网”。在各个席位的密切配合下，任务顺利完成。 “人在阵地在，人在天线转，人在情报通！”夕阳里，他们自豪地笑着说。那一张张脸庞上被风霜灼出的“高原红”，和落在雪山顶上的光同样耀眼。