Rarely does a television series capture with such emotional intimacy the lives of environmental protectors who risk everything patrolling the "no man's land" in Northwest China's Qinghai province.
Born to Be Alive, one of this year's most popular TV series, opens with actor Hu Ge portraying Dorje, the leader of a patrol team dedicated to safeguarding Tibetan antelopes from relentless poachers. In the show, a prairie poet offers a deeply meaningful and heartfelt line to comfort Bai Ju, a female officer played by actress Yang Zi: "What people forget, the land remembers."
These words serve not only as consolation but as a quiet promise that those who sacrificed their lives to protect the Tibetan antelope have not truly been forgotten.
Through this steady, unflashy portrayal of guardianship, the 40-episode series conveys both the meaning of existence and the urgency of environmental protection — a theme many critics regard as its emotional core. At the heart of the story lies a simple message: true protection rests not only in what people do, but in what they choose not to do.
For Dorje and his fellow rangers, that choice means foregoing economic development in the area and instead silently guarding the wildlife, especially the Tibetan antelope — hailed as the spirit of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Dorje's character is inspired by the real-life stories of two esteemed environmental defenders from Hoh Xil: Jiesang Sonam Dargye and his brother-in-law, Chika Zhanduo Dorje.
In 1992, Sonam Dargye, then the deputy secretary of the Communist Party of China Committee of Zhidoi county, led the establishment of the country's first armed anti-poaching patrol, personally heading to the front lines. Two years later, while escorting captured poachers, he was ambushed. In the bitter cold, nearing -40 C, he faced 18 armed criminals alone. After a fierce gunfight, he died a martyr. When rescuers found him, his body had frozen in a kneeling position, rifle raised — like a human sculpture carved from ice.
Following his death, Zhanduo Dorje volunteered to take over and rebuild the team, naming it the "Wild Yak Brigade". The name carries symbolic meaning: the wild yak is docile and enduring, slow to anger; but once its homeland is violated, it charges with unstoppable fury and fights to the death.
What makes Born to Be Alive especially moving is its portrayal of guardians "stripped of divinity, steeped in humanity". Director Li Xue conducted extensive fieldwork in the region, documenting the real conditions faced by the rangers and channeling those observations into the distinct personalities of the seven-member patrol team.
The journey of these real-life archetypes resonates with history. In 1997, the Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve was officially established, and in 2017, Qinghai Hoh Xil was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. On March 15, the newly revised Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Nature Reserves will take effect.
"Only by finishing the road you must walk can you reach the place you want to go," one of the series' lines, serves as a poignant reminder for its audience. With this, director Li dissolves the boundary between art and reality, allowing the drama's meaning to reach its fullest expression.
