Source record CMC Political Work Department · 2026-09-04

The "Desolate Wasteland" Takes on a New Look

“穷荒绝漠”换新颜

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Desk	China Desk
Publishing institution	CMC Political Work Department
Source outlet	PLA Daily (解放军报) (pla_daily)
Source language	zh-Hans — an attribute of the source, not of this record
Source-stated publication date	2026-09-04
Original URL	http://www.81.cn/yw_208727/16483435.html
Collected at	2026-09-04 16:38:51 — collection metadata, not a publication time
Content fingerprint	b1f426d88ed4e502f2d937e981176dedbb76e3a312aaf3e495f93cdfda196f60 — taken when the record was captured, over the stored original title and text
Collection run	130
Analysis model	claude-sonnet-4-6
Prompt version	v1

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“穷荒绝漠”换新颜 ■姜秉政解放军报记者梅常伟闫梓锋红石山哨所官兵为树苗浇水。作者提供 “这是我们去年种的树，4棵活了2棵。”位于中蒙边境的红石山哨所，中士陈瑞站在不足一人高的榆树前说，当年，前辈们记不清栽下多少树，总共才活了3棵。红石山哨所位于甘肃省肃北蒙古族自治县北部戈壁深处，年均降水量30毫米左右，“穷荒绝漠鸟不飞”是这里的真实写照。上世纪60年代，边防官兵奉命挺进这片无人区戍守，一场植树接力也由此开始。栽活树木靠水，但哨所附近没有水源。几十年间，军地有关部门先后多次勘探找水，均无功而返。哨所官兵坚持从数十公里外运水，硬是在这片不毛之地扎下了根。 “人活着都难，何况树。”下士王傲曾在哨所当过8个月炊事员，深知戈壁里水的金贵。他和战友把洗脸水用来洗脚洗袜子，最后冲厕所，每一滴水都尽可能重复用、省着用。一次，运水车在半路抛锚，哨所官兵停了日常洗漱，不熬粥、不煮汤，一直坚持到运水车来。 2025年，部队和当地政府联手协调力量，动用大型专业装备，经过数月勘探，终于打出一口深水井，井水虽含盐碱，却足够满足哨所官兵日常用水需求。通水的时候，大家高兴得像过年，特意拧开水龙头，接出第一瓶水贴上标签封存，作为历史见证。哨所缺水，红石山边防连也一样。很长一段时间，营区里只有一口不到30米深的土井，井水盐碱度高、入口咸涩，且水量十分有限。今年春天，打井队在连队营区附近新探到一处水源，立即开工钻井。 “打井的机器‘哐当哐当’震天响，可我们一点都不觉得吵。”中士钞向欢和邓波负责维护连队的供水设施，一旦设备出了故障，他们要来回奔波10多公里进行排查，“如果营区这口井能打成，就太幸福了”。不久后，清洌的井水喷涌而出。连队指导员霍奇说，有了水，官兵扎根戈壁、守护国门的信心更足了。这些年，经过军地共同努力，红石山边防连接通了市电，升级了5G网络，扩建了温室大棚，通往哨所的路铺成了柏油路。记者在哨所采访时，恰好遇到下连不久的新战士。来自内蒙古阿拉善盟的列兵李华晨从小喝着家乡的盐碱水长大，父母总是教育他“好好读书，将来到外地去喝甜水”。“我要告诉爸妈，边关的水不苦，大家都惦记着我们。”李华晨说。井水汩汩涌流，边关日新月异。喜欢画画的官兵把哨所的新气象勾勒在一块块石头上，画笔下，一汪甘泉清澈流淌，温暖着官兵心田。资料链接 “十四五”以来，甘肃省肃北蒙古族自治县持续加大投入，用于驻军营区设施改造、拥军优属、联防共建等工作，持续改善边防部队基础设施、官兵执勤训练生活条件，为边防部队钻成3口深水井，统筹推进管道铺设、电力配套、防护设施等项目建设。该县还依托当地客运公司开通边防客运和邮政包裹投送专线，保障官兵日常出行和购物需求。有关部门还协调建立军人军属服务站，为军人军属中转住宿提供优惠便利。

Summary

Machine summary

Soldiers at the Hongshi Mountain outpost of the Hongshi Mountain Border Defense Company, stationed on the Sino-Mongolian border in Subei Mongol Autonomous County, Gansu Province, gained access to a functional deep water well in 2025 after decades of hauling water from dozens of kilometers away and a cumulative record of only three trees surviving on the post. The article documents the material baseline at a remote Gobi border garrison — chronic water scarcity, high-alkaline earthen wells, and dependence on water trucks — and records the military-local government joint infrastructure push under the 14th Five-Year Plan that has now drilled three deep wells for border units in the county alongside grid power, 5G, and road paving. This is standard civil-military coordination (拥军优属/联防共建) feature reporting; its value is as a ground-level record of garrison living conditions and the pace of infrastructure improvement at a specific, named outpost, not as evidence of changed operational posture.

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Source text. CMC Political Work Department. "“穷荒绝漠”换新颜." PLA Daily (解放军报), 2026-09-04. http://www.81.cn/yw_208727/16483435.html.

As held. Indo-Pacific Record, China Desk Corpus, Record 3860, Snapshot — 2026-09-04 (3,872 records).

Processing note. The English title and summary held for this record are machine-generated and have not been reviewed by a human.

The record number and this record path are locators inside the 2026-09-04 snapshot. Neither is a DOI, accession number, permanent identifier, public permalink, or published route. See identifiers and citation guidance.