Zhao Wei and Yan Xiaoning had been dating for over a year, but the couple could barely see each other in person, because Zhao is a soldier safeguarding the border in Southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region and Yan lives some 4,000 kilometers away in the coastal city of Yantai in East China’s Shandong province, Tibet Daily reported.

Despite the long distance, the two hearts grew closer and they decided to tie the knot during Spring Festival. Since Zhao would be on duty during the festival, Yan travelled thousands of miles to his camp to marry him, despite the difficulties of cold weather and thin air in the high altitude region.

The local marriage registration office, which is usually off-duty during the holiday, arranged a special working hour to help them get registered.

Holding their marriage certificate, which was written both in Mandarin and Tibetan, Yan said that she hopes this special certificate will be the best witness of their love.

Responsible for the border security of hundreds of miles of border spanning across several snow-covered mountains—each with an altitude of over 5,000 meters—Zhao’s unit has been designated a “model plateau battalion” for its outstanding performance in safeguarding the border, ensuring stability and disaster relief assistance.

Zhao’s camp has a tradition of celebrating the Spring Festival and the Tibetan New Year with the locals. When the locals learnt about the couple’s story, they decided to make this year’s celebration even more special by arranging a Tibetan-style wedding ceremony for them.

Yan wore traditional Tibetan clothes, while Zhao wore his uniform. The couple were presented with chemar, a specialty for Tibetan New Year, and hada, a long, scarf-like white piece of silk used by Tibetans for blessings.

“They’re my children’s age, but they’ve sacrificed so much to safeguard our safety. For that, I’m most grateful,” said a senior local who helped arranged the wedding.