In the remote Yumai township of Xizang autonomous region, on the southern slopes of the Himalayas, the Sangye Chopa family has spent decades guarding China's border with India.

In 1960s, Sangye Chopa became the first person to head Yumai township. At the time, poverty and harsh conditions — heavy snow, poor transport and only a few hours of sunlight a day — forced most residents to leave. Within years, only his family of three remained, and Yumai became known as a "three-person township".

Defying calls to relocate, Sangye Chopa hand stitched a red flag and told his daughters, Drolkar and Yangzom: "Our home is Yumai, our country is China, and guarding the border is our duty." From the 1980s, the sisters patrolled the snow-covered terrain with their father, sometimes sheltering overnight in mountain caves.

In 1988, Drolkar succeeded her father as township head, with Yangzom as deputy. Gradually, other families returned, and Yumai began to grow. Roads were constructed in 2001, linking the isolated community to the outside world. By 2024, it had developed into a settlement of 67 households and 253 residents, with a school, clinic and border police station.

The family's service has been recognized nationally, with Drolkar and Yangzom awarded multiple honors, including the "July 1 Medal".

In 2018, Sangye Chopa's grandson, Sonam Dondrub, Yumai's first university graduate, returned home, giving up work elsewhere to help develop the township. He says his decision was shaped by his grandfather's words and his mother's reminder that "guarding Yumai is our duty".

Spanning more than three generations and covering over 3,600 square kilometers, the Sangye Chopa family's story reflects both personal sacrifice and wider change — from a settlement on the brink of abandonment to a thriving border community. As Drolkar often tells local children: "Wherever the people of Yumai go, the national flag will go too."