Chinanews, Kunming, Nov. 28 – Along the China-Myanmar border, there is a village called Yinjing in Ruili City, where the border line between China and Myanmar runs across here. The village has two names, Yinjing in Chinese and Mangxiu(translated in Pinyin)in Myanmar. The border line is actually made up of the milestones, bamboo booths, small roads, winding ditches, or even ridges between fields. In the village, melon vines in Chinese territory might creep to the Myanmar land to grow fruit and likewise, hens raised by a Myanmarese villager might happen to run into the yards of a Chinese farmer to lay eggs. Although coming from two countries, the villagers speak the same language and share the same traditions.
Entering the village, the reporter saw a common stone tablet standing by the roadside, inscribed with several Chinese characters that read “made by China in 1960.” A number 71 was carved at the side of the stone, which tells that this is the No.71 boundary marker set between China and Myanmar.
Standing by the stone tablet for a couple of minutes, the reporter saw several people coming by. Some were Chinese villagers, driving across the border in their tractors to the other side of the village in Myanmar. Others were Myanmarese entering into China with babies in their arms. To these villagers, crossing the border line was such a natural thing to do.
Earlier, a villager’s house was even built on the border line, with the sitting room located in Myanmar and the bedroom in China. Later, governments from the two countries decided to choose the line running straight between the two markers as the boundary line and required that no buildings should be built in an area 20 meters within this boundary line. Since then, no houses have ever been erected between the boundary line any more.
Although they belong to different countries, the villagers treat each other as if they were relatives – actually, they are country folks. Since all villagers here speak Thai language, there is no language barrier between them. Therefore, they can easily do business with each other or be related to each other by marriage.
Apart from Yinjing Village in Ruili, many courtyards, wells, streets, or bridges in Ruili are also used as the boundary lines between the two countries. As the Ruili city mayor Gong Nengzheng said, China and Myanmar are closely linked with each other. Since ancient times, villagers from the two countries have traded with each other, become related to each other by marriage, and treated each other as “brothers.” In 1956, villagers living in the Sino-Myanmarese border held a large celebration party. Since then, villagers from the two countries often meet and exchange their skills during holidays or festive occasions.
