China can't do without Motuo! This statement is not unfounded, and this border land in Tibet carries a rich history and complex geopolitics.
Since 1962, the PLA troops have been alone in the extremely harsh natural environment for 62 years, becoming the strongest barrier on the border of the motherland.
Today, let's talk about the unique geographical and strategic significance of Motuo, as well as the touching stories of the PLA officers and soldiers stationed here.
Geography and strategic position of Metuo
Located in the southern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region on the mainland, in the eastern part of the Himalayas, Medog County is one of the highest counties in the mainland.
From God's point of view, it is located at the commanding heights of the Sino-Indian border area, and has become an important and special existence on the mainland border defense line, which is of great strategic significance to national defense and security.
With an area of about 34,000 square kilometers, Medog County has a unique geographical environment and complex geological conditions, so it is also known as the "plateau island".
There is a famous "Liberation Bridge" in the territory of Metuo, this chain bridge spans the Brahmaputra River, which is more dangerous than the chain bridge over the Dadu River.
The Brahmaputra River flows about three times as fast as the Yellow River, rushing through the territory of Medog County and heading downstream to India.
The distance from Metuo to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the Sino-Indian border is more than 120 kilometers in a straight line, making it an important strategic base for the mainland's defense in this area.
In addition, Motuo County is also an important pass in the southwest of the mainland, a key strategic buffer zone between China and India, and a key passage to South Asia.
Before becoming an important frontier county on the mainland, Motuo experienced a long period of turmoil. During the Republican period, the situation in Tibet was turbulent, and the British colonists took the opportunity to covet Motuo and the surrounding Luoyu region.
In 1913, through bribery and threats of force, the British colonialist McMahon signed the so-called "McMahon Line" with the local government of Tibet, illegally demarcating the Sino-Indian border and adding most of the Luoyu region to the Indian colony.
Put simply, the boundary was moved 150 kilometers from the edge of the Assam Plain to Tibet, with the connecting line of the Himalayan Ridge Watershed as the boundary, and the result of this event was the loss of 90,000 square kilometers of land on the mainland.
This illegal occupation not only seriously violated China's territorial sovereignty, but also caused a large number of Lhoba people to live on land illegally occupied by India, which was inherited by India after independence and included the Lhoyu region in its "Arunachal Pradesh".
Even so, India has not forgotten its ambition to continue to encroach on China's territory, and Medog has become the front line in the Sino-Indian border area, shouldering the heavy responsibility of guarding the territorial integrity of the motherland.
However, only a small part of Medog remained under mainland control, and the remaining two-thirds were occupied by India.
The heroic persistence of the PLA
As mentioned above, Metuo's geographical location makes it an important stronghold on the Sino-Indian border, and the key to guarding Tibet and the entire southwestern frontier of China.
If India occupies Metuo, it will not only threaten the security of the Tibetan region of the mainland, but also directly pose a huge threat to the southwestern border of the mainland.
As a result, the Indian government has been eyeing Motuo and trying to control the region through various means, and conflicts at different levels have broken out between China and India many times.
In 1959, the Indian army began frequent provocations in the border areas in an attempt to encroach on Chinese territory; In 1962, the Indian army launched an offensive against Metuo in an attempt to occupy this strategic location.
On June 5 of the same year, the 158th Regiment of the 18th Army of the People's Liberation Army received an order to form an advance team and quickly go to Medog to stop the invasion of the Indian army.
The advance team risked their lives in the extremely harsh natural environment and finally succeeded in taking control of the Medog area.
There is an old saying called "keeping a business is more important than starting a business", it is easy to lay down a piece of land, but how to protect this land is very difficult, it is not a battle and a march can be done, someone needs to stick to it, to protect.
So controlling the Medog region is just the beginning, and protecting it is the next problem, why do you say that? The geography of Motuo is extremely treacherous, with wide differences in altitude, rugged mountain roads, and a very variable climate.
The PLA officers and men stationed in Medog not only had to face the harsh natural environment, but also had to undertake arduous patrol tasks, each patrol had to climb mountains and cross rivers, and the path was full of unknown dangers.
In the summer, the mountain roads are covered with dense vegetation, and the abundant rain causes the roads to be slippery, and the officers and soldiers are often bitten by leeches, and blood flows from their legs; Winters are even tougher, with severe cold and heavy snow making patrols more dangerous, and the slightest mistake can lead to sliding off cliffs.
During the march, the soldiers faced the threat of various natural disasters such as avalanches and mudslides.
For example, when Deputy Instructor Wu Zhonglun climbed over the snow-capped mountains, he finally collapsed due to altitude sickness and cold exhaustion, becoming the first PLA soldier to die defending Metuo.
In 1982, the deputy platoon commander of the first company led four soldiers to carry out patrol tasks, and suddenly encountered an avalanche when crossing the Xiongla Snow Mountain, and all five comrades were pushed into the ice lake and died bravely.
The soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) are guarding the borders of the motherland with their lives, and their deeds have touched countless people and inspired generations of officers and soldiers to continue to stick to Metuo.
The officers and men of the People's Liberation Army stationed in Metuo stuck to their posts and overcame many difficulties in a harsh environment, but this was not the end, they faced extremely difficult living conditions, lack of materials, and inconvenient transportation.
Every transportation of supplies requires a long trek on foot, or relies on a limited number of helicopters to drop supplies, and the food, clothing, shelter and transportation of officers and soldiers are extremely rudimentary, and many may have no concept of these words.
In 1986, when General Fu Quanyou, commander of the Chengdu Military Region, inspected Motuo, he was very angry when he saw the officers and men wearing shabby civilian clothes, and angrily reprimanded them for not wearing military uniforms.
It turned out that it was not that the PLA did not wear military uniforms, but that the environment in the Motuo area was too harsh, and the clothes were soaked in sweat in summer and frozen like ice cubes in winter.
Maybe you think that you should just send in new uniforms? At that time, the mainland's infrastructure was very backward, it was difficult to transport the necessary materials for daily life in peacetime, and the places where the PLA soldiers lived were all shabby.
In the face of such living conditions, the soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) have no complaints, and have always insisted on defending every inch of the motherland, and have been stationed in Metuo from generation to generation to defend the borders of the motherland.
Today's Motuo
To get back to the point, after returning from the inspection, Fu Quanyou deeply felt the hardships of the PLA soldiers, immediately promoted the improvement of the logistical support conditions in Metuo, and vigorously supported the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
Since then, the mainland has invested a lot of manpower, material and financial resources in the construction of Metuo.
In order to improve the traffic conditions of Metuo, the state has continuously invested manpower and material resources to build a road to Medog since the 70s of the last century. As we all know, the geological conditions in Tibet are very complex, and the progress of road construction projects is slow.
It wasn't until 1994 that an improvised road was built in the TAR, but it was quickly washed away by natural disasters. In 2009, the state invested heavily again to start the construction of a high-quality Medog Highway, which was finally opened to traffic in 2013 after four years of hard work.
In other words, from 1962 to 2013, there was no proper road to Medog for 51 years, and coupled with the geographical environment of Tibet itself, it is not difficult to imagine how difficult the PLA soldiers stationed in Medog were.
The Qinghai-Tibet Railway runs from Xining, Qinghai in the east to Lhasa, Tibet in the west, with a total length of 1,956 kilometers.
With a total length of 117 kilometers and an altitude difference of 3,000 meters, the opening of the highway has greatly improved the traffic conditions in Metuo and improved the quality of life of the officers and soldiers stationed there.
Perhaps today Medog is no longer that "isolated island", but it is still an important defensive stronghold on the mainland border line, and the perseverance of the PLA officers and soldiers has made great contributions to the security and stability of Metuo.
When they still stick to their posts in a difficult environment, perform the sacred duty of protecting their homes and defending the country, and interpret their loyalty and love for the motherland with their practical actions.
However, although the transportation conditions in Medog have improved, it is only relative to the past, and the PLA officers and soldiers stationed here still face great challenges, and it is because of their efforts that we can enjoy the peace and tranquility we have today.
In general, the history of Motuo is a history full of hardships and glory, and the officers and soldiers of the People's Liberation Army stationed here have guarded every inch of the motherland with their perseverance and sacrifice.
The soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) defended the dignity and security of the country with tenacious perseverance and fearless spirit in an extremely harsh environment.
The plateau area known as the "isolated island" has witnessed the selfless dedication and heroic sacrifice of countless PLA officers and soldiers, and has a history of 62 years of protection as of today.
For many years, they have silently guarded the borders of the motherland under extremely difficult conditions and made great contributions to the security and stability of the country. What do you think differently about this?
Resources: https://kns.cnki.net/kcms2/article/abstract?v=XEQRgWHfXDFVIR5feCW2iRFUsp1sMcsa13QntdLBgNg8OkmcvADcFrTb53XkdzLc2ppjL846W8Asx2c90VMYbcQ_-g-I5jU0k5f94tO8jw4fXnF0jbOmjOGLoIWRB758S0O5VduwR2VpNmW8jPCB2Q==&uniplatform=NZKPT&language=CHS
For 60 years, they have dedicated their youth to Motuo! _News Channel_CCTV(cctv.com)
What kind of history did the 18th Army advance to the "snowy island"? Come, together with the officers and soldiers of the border area, re-take the road of Motuo......_The Paper_The Paper