Eight years of border ridesharing: Some people are human, while others are "pigs".

In a small town on the China-Myanmar border in Xishuangbanna, the villages are closely connected to the Myanmar border. One can cross the border on foot in just three to five minutes. After 2023, layers of barbed - wire fences were erected along the border, blocking all the small paths, yet there were still undercurrents.

Some young people in the local villages were lured and bribed by "snakeheads" (leaders in the illegal immigration industry). They rode motorcycles and took remote paths to transport illegal immigrants out of the country - they called this "transporting pigs". In 2023 and 2024, it was a relatively good time for the border rideshare business. Young people who got rich overnight by "transporting pigs" often chartered cars late at night to go to Jinghong, the capital of Xishuangbanna, and spent money lavishly.

Chen Ning (a pseudonym) is a rideshare driver on this route and has been doing this job for eight years. She has transported young people involved in "transporting pigs", received calls from "snakeheads", and also refused the temptation of earning thousands of yuan from a single order. She has seen people wash their hair with expensive wine worth thousands of yuan, and also witnessed their eventual fates - some were arrested, and some ended up penniless.

This is not just a story about a gray - area industry. Chen Ning was born and grew up in this border area. Over the past fifty - odd years, she has witnessed the changes here with her own eyes. In the past, smuggling was a means of making a living, and tapping rubber was also a way to earn a living. Later, the price of rubber rose and fell, and fell and rose again. Corn factories were established, and there were more ways to earn money. Some people left and then came back, while others stayed at home relying on their parents. Some people are like rubber trees, being cut again and again, yet still standing there oozing sap.

The following is Chen Ning's self - narration.

"Seven or eight 'pigs' in one car. Don't they jump?"

"Last time when I was 'transporting pigs', I put seven or eight of them in one car."

This was said by a male passenger in the back row. One day when I was driving, I picked up several young people from a local village and took them to Jinghong. As I was driving, I was muttering to myself: Pigs are so big. How could one car carry seven or eight of them?

I can't keep things to myself, so I just casually asked, "How did you fit them in? Don't they jump?"

Everyone in the car burst into laughter. They laughed uncontrollably and then told me that "pigs" referred to people who were trying to illegally cross the border to Myanmar.

This was the first time I heard the term "transporting pigs". I felt it had nothing to do with me and wasn't nervous after hearing it. After all, I wasn't the one doing something wrong.

Later, after reading a lot of news, I found out that those who illegally crossed the border had such a miserable life, and their families had to spend a lot of money to redeem them. I thought it was better not to do such things.

There are rain trees planted on both sides of the road here. They are green all year round and very beautiful. On sunny days, there are green shades on both sides. As the car drives along, the eyes are filled with green. I've been driving a rideshare on this road for eight years, shuttling back and forth between the border town and the urban area every day.

● The border road is lined with lush and green rain trees. Photo by: Ouyang Sifan

I have about ten thousand passengers added on my WeChat. When I exceeded the friend limit, I deleted those I hadn't contacted for a long time to make room for new guests. Seventy to eighty percent of my passengers are young people in their twenties and thirties, including those going to Jinghong for work, entertainment, or medical treatment.

In our area, every village is connected to Myanmar. It only takes three to five minutes to walk there. During the pandemic, the barbed - wire fences along the border were all connected. I heard that the local people carried the fences up the mountains bit by bit, and many places had very steep slopes. The small paths leading to Myanmar were almost cut off.

However, despite the cut - off, there were still cases of illegal border - crossing in 2023 and 2024. Although there were barbed - wire fences, they would put planks on the fences, cut the fences, or dig holes under the fences to cross.

Those two years were also the best time for the rideshare business. Among my passengers, there were some young boys involved in illegal border - crossing. They lived in local villages and were bribed by "snakeheads" to enter this business. After picking up illegal immigrants from Jinghong, they would carry them on their motorcycles and shuttle through the small paths to send them out of the border.

If someone in the village suddenly gets rich, nine times out of ten, they are involved in illegal border - crossing. Otherwise, where would a young person in the village get so much money? It's obvious that the money comes from an improper source.

I heard from them that they could earn tens of thousands of yuan for transporting one "pig", and some could earn one or two million yuan a month. They received cash and spent cash. After getting rich, they were willing to spend money and often chartered cars to go to Jinghong at night. They would often contact me at midnight and say, "Sister, charter a car. Will you go?"

The charter fee for a rideshare is two hundred yuan. Just running one or two trips a day can solve the day's income problem. Those two years, the night - charter business was good. I would run at least seven or eight nights a month. Everyone had a good business then, and drivers could earn about ten thousand yuan a month.

In the car, most of these young people were quite flamboyant. People said that these people might as well have written on their heads: "I'm involved in 'transporting pigs'." From their conversations, I could tell that they thought being rich was cool. Sometimes they would also talk about transporting illegal immigrants without any hesitation. I don't care whether they are involved in "transporting pigs" or not, as long as they are not the "pigs" themselves. As long as they are normal local people sitting in my car, I don't care what they are going to do and I won't ask. If they tell me, I'll listen; if they don't, I'll pretend not to know.

Once, I told them in the car that out of those who go to Myanmar, how many can come back and how many end up dead there. Couldn't they stop doing such immoral things?

They coldly replied, "We can't control that. Who knows what will happen to them? They go there on their own, not because we force them."

I thought maybe they hadn't seen people suffer in person, so they didn't feel any sense of guilt.

I guess these people dared to talk about it because in those years, if someone was caught in this business, they wouldn't be imprisoned for a long time. The risk was low and the profit was high, so many local people flocked to do it.

Most of these people are nowhere to be seen later. Some were arrested, and some became penniless. I heard from other passengers that when they were rich, they would go to bars and buy expensive wine worth thousands of yuan to wash their hair just to show off their wealth. I advised them to save some money and give some to their parents. After all, this money was earned at the risk of being caught. But they wouldn't listen. They would spend all the money, and the biggest part would go to gambling.

There was also a boy who owed me three hundred yuan for the fare. He asked me to take him to Jinghong at around three o'clock in the morning and didn't pay me. He still hasn't paid me until now. He had taken my car many times before. Forget it, I won't ask for it anymore.

The rain trees are beautiful, but when the wind is strong, their branches are easy to break. It rained heavily a few days ago, and several rain trees fell, blocking the road in the middle. Those drivers who went out at five or six o'clock in the morning didn't get home until nine or ten o'clock at night. No one expected the wind and rain to be so strong.

"I won't put myself at risk for just a few dozen yuan"

Those two years were good for the business, and drivers were very diligent. When driving at night, it was pitch - black all around, and only the car lights illuminated a short stretch of the road in front. Sometimes, when I saw lights in the distance, I knew there was another driver on the road. There were always people on this road at one or two o'clock, two or three o'clock in the early morning.

But the risk was also high. Almost every year, a rideshare driver on our route would be caught. Nine times out of ten, it was because they had transported "pigs".

Some time ago, a driver here picked up a man from out of town. On the way, the car was stopped. The man in the car admitted that he was going to Myanmar. The driver explained that he was just taking a normal order and charging fifty or sixty yuan for the fare. But in our business, passengers usually pay after getting off the car, and there is no payment record when they get on. Who knows whether he charged the passenger fifty yuan or five thousand yuan? As long as the fare exceeds the normal rideshare price, the management has reason to suspect that he is assisting in illegal border - crossing.

Later, the driver was taken for investigation. If he really charged the normal price, he might be let go.

Over the years, I've been very cautious when picking up passengers. As soon as I answer the phone and find that the passenger is from out of town, I'll ask, "What are you coming here for?"

Some people get impatient and say, "Why do you ask so many questions?"

I say, "If you don't tell me, how can I dare to take you? This is the border. Do you have to wait until the police ask you?"

Generally, when I say this, they will tell me what they are coming here for. If it makes sense, I'll take the order normally. If they keep being vague, I won't take the order. I won't put myself at risk for just a few dozen yuan.

● The store signs in the border town are written in multiple languages. Photo by: Ouyang Sifan

Once, a colleague introduced two people to take my car from Jinghong back to the town. He assured me, "Sister, it's absolutely safe. They come to the border to drive big trucks every time."

This explanation seemed reasonable. There are many big trucks here for cross - border transportation of durians and agricultural products, and there are indeed many out - of - town drivers who come here specifically to drive. But the introducer was once caught for transporting illegal immigrants. Although he explained that it was an accidental pick - up, I was still more careful with the people he introduced.

When I called the passengers, I deliberately said that the charter fee was two hundred and forty yuan. Actually, the normal charter price is two hundred yuan. By doing this, I could at least judge whether they were regular passengers. The boy on the phone said, "Isn't it two hundred yuan?" At this step, I couldn't really tell anything, so I still went to pick them up.

When I drove to the meeting place, two men were waiting there. One of them looked to be in his early thirties, wearing clothes bought at a local scenic spot with an elephant print on them and big shorts. I thought it was strange. People who come here to do serious work or drive big trucks wouldn't dress like this. Usually, they would dress more simply and low - key.

The two men got in the car. The slightly fatter one sat in the front passenger seat, and the thinner one sat in the back. As soon as they got in, I asked them what they were doing here. The man in the front passenger seat said they were here to drive big trucks.

"Then show me your big - truck driver's license," I said.

Before I could finish speaking, he lifted his buttocks and said, "Wait a minute," then picked up his phone and got out of the car to make a call. He was gone for more than ten minutes.

I turned to the boy in the back and said, "Show me your driver's license."

He said, "I don't have one. I'm here to accompany him to drive."

"How can you come to drive without a driver's license?" I asked him. At that time, I knew something was definitely wrong with these two people.

More than ten minutes later, the man outside hung up the phone and got in the car, saying they wouldn't go.

● Image source: TV drama "Stories by the Border River"

Later, I called the colleague who introduced the job and told him not to send these two people to anyone else. They were definitely suspicious. I wouldn't pass on the people I didn't want to take to my colleagues.

But a few days later, a strange call came in, asking me to pick up the same two people. I directly told other drivers that these two people might be trying to illegally cross the border.

In such cases, some drivers may really lack judgment, but this colleague has been driving longer than me. He can't be without judgment. Some people just send you suspicious orders. I wonder if the "snakeheads" will give them some benefits if you transport the people?

The "snakeheads" also came to me directly and said they would give me thousands of yuan for transporting one person. I could earn tens of thousands of yuan if I transported several people in one car. But I refused.

I've never been jealous of that money. First of all, I don't know whether the people I transport will be alive or dead. Most importantly, I'm afraid of going to jail. I have elderly people at home and I can't leave. It would be so troublesome if I got involved.

I know some drivers around me do this kind of business. Some drivers in our fleet have been imprisoned for half a year or a year and then come out.

Sometimes I wonder why those who illegally cross the border are so naive. Logically, when an out - of - towner comes to our town, the first information their phone receives is a warning about going to Myanmar. I think people with normal thinking shouldn't believe those (fraudulent messages), but still, so many people go there.

I'm a nosy person. Once, I picked up a boy in his thirties from out of town. He said he was here to deliver vegetables and was going to drink with a friend in the village. On the way, I casually reminded him that in our area, it's okay to eat and drink at the market, but if the friends aren't very familiar, it's better not to go drinking with them. If someone wants to take you to the border area, you need to be more careful.

He understood my reminder and said, "Sister, I know. I won't go there with them."