Family patrols

Tenzin Samdrup came to Yulmed about 10 years ago, married and had children. The couple run a courier business, which has become increasingly busy.

Delivery services can now reach Yulmed after roads were improved, and it's very convenient for residents to buy things online. In the past, people had to travel for days to buy daily necessities from nearby townships, Tenzin Samdrup, 31, said.

"Nowadays, there are hundreds of express parcels arriving in Yulmed every day. More and more people are shopping online. It's quite something considering how remote Yulmed is."

With improved infrastructure, tourism is also booming, especially between June and September. By the end of 2024, a total of 55 families in the township had set up homestays to accommodate tourists.

Rinchen Phuntsog, the township head, said a tourist service and reception center has been built and is expected to begin operating by the end of this year. "It will be helpful to attract tourists and increase the income of our village collective."

Although the population in Yulmed has continued to grow, between 1964 and 1996 only three people lived in the township — Yangzom, her sister Zhoigar, and their father Sangye Chopa, the former township head.

The family was determined to protect a total of 3,644 square kilometers of township land on the border between China and India.

Yangzom, 62, began patrolling the border with her father when she was 16 years old. He passed away in 2001, but he instilled in her the attitude that protecting the land beneath your feet is to protect your country, she said. Their old residence has been turned into a museum that faithfully recreates the former poor living conditions of the family.

"Many people moved away because life in Yulmed was too tough to endure back then," Yangzom said.

"I asked my father why we must stay. He said if people all moved away, the land beneath would be lost, which is something he wouldn't allow. They were his exact words," she said.