At dawn, traffic flows steadily along an expressway cutting through the tropical rainforest of Southwest China. Trucks, tourist buses and private cars pass in quick succession.

At Dakaihe Border Inspection Station, each vehicle is subject to scrutiny by immigration police.

Located in Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, Yunnan province, Dakaihe is the region's only expressway-based border inspection station. Positioned on the Kunming-Bangkok international corridor, one of China's most important land routes linking Southeast Asia with the country's interior, it serves as a key second-line checkpoint designed to intercept cross-border risks.

The scale of the task is immense. In 2025 alone, the station inspected more than 5.36 million vehicles and 15.27 million people. On an average, officers check about 15,000 vehicles, 42,000 travelers and over 8,000 metric tons of cargo per day.

During peak travel seasons like Spring Festival and National Day holidays, the numbers surge dramatically, with inspections reaching nearly one person per second.

"Speed matters, but accuracy matters more," said Li Sheng, head of Dakaihe Border Inspection Station."Every minute saved for lawful travelers is hard-earned, but every missed detail could mean serious consequences."