No expedition can trample on the legal red line. Before embarking on an expedition, carefully assessing personal abilities and making sufficient preparations is the true way to respect nature, life, and rules. At the beginning of the new year, a tragedy caused by a hiker illegally crossing the Aotai Line (Aoshan to Taibai Mountain section) in the Qinling Mountains of Shaanxi Province has attracted nationwide attention. According to the report on the official account of "Taibai Rongmei" on January 5, at about 2:00 a.m. on January 2, five non local personnel avoided the management and protection station and climbed the mountain illegally from 23 kilometers near Huangbaiyuan Town. After receiving the report, Taibai County in Shaanxi Province immediately activated the emergency rescue plan and organized relevant departments, four professional rescue teams, and local residents to make every effort to search and rescue. Currently, 2 people have died, 1 person has fallen off a cliff and is awaiting rescue, 1 person has been rescued, and 1 person has been evacuated early. Even though the local government responded quickly and deployed a large number of personnel to search and rescue in the complex terrain and snow covered Aoshan during the harsh winter, tragedy could not be avoided. While mourning for the deceased, the public also finds it difficult to suppress their strong indignation towards the five individuals who disregarded the ban and forcibly crossed Aoshan. The Aotai Line is located in the core area of a national nature reserve, and it is strictly prohibited by law for any unit or individual to enter without permission. Since 2018, the Taibai Mountain Nature Reserve, together with the Taibai County People's Government and the Forest Public Security Second Branch of the Shaanxi Provincial Public Security Department, has issued a notice prohibiting illegal crossing of the Aotai Line, and has carried out extensive publicity and persuasion activities around the reserve. Starting from April 2024, the Taibai Mountain Nature Reserve has issued another notice prohibiting illegal crossing and exploration activities in areas above 2000 meters above sea level. Violators will be dealt with in accordance with the law and regulations. However, before the ban, some people still ignored it and repeatedly risked their lives. The danger of the Aotai Line is not an exaggeration, there are already bloody lessons to be learned. From 2012 to the summer of 2017, a total of 46 backpackers went missing or died on the Aotai Line. Faced with the painful lessons left repeatedly, why do the successors still have no fear and come in a continuous stream? On the one hand, many short video bloggers regard Aotai Line as a traffic password, advocating that "bravely breaking through Aotai Line completes the 'Strong Donkey Graduation Ceremony'", distorting the high mortality rate as "Strong Certification", seriously misleading many netizens to blindly pursue the pleasure of conquering nature; On the other hand, the ignorant are fearless, and many hikers do not have a scientific assessment of natural risks or professional exploration abilities. They only rely on their passionate hiking passion to put themselves in danger. Regardless of the motive, it ultimately boils down to a blatant disregard for rules, extreme disregard for life, and a lack of reverence for nature and the law. Hikers crossing the Aotai Line in violation of regulations are taking risks on their own. Article 1176 of the Civil Code stipulates: "If one voluntarily participates in cultural and sports activities with certain risks and suffers harm due to the behavior of other participants, the victim shall not request other participants to bear tort liability; however, other participants who have intentional or gross negligence in the occurrence of the harm are excluded." This provision of the Civil Code is not to encourage blind risk-taking, but to issue a warning to all citizens in the name of the law: adults should be responsible for their own actions. However, many people do not understand this truth and still rely on public rescue to cover the risks caused by reckless exploration, resulting in the dilemma of "one person in danger, one hundred people in rescue". Many rescue personnel even sacrifice their lives for the ignorant and paranoid adventure of backpackers. A gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall, nor should he put others in danger due to personal behavior. Even though China regards "life first" as the primary principle of public rescue, it must be reiterated that the lives of rescue personnel are equally precious as those of the rescued. At present, China has not yet formulated specialized laws on the recovery of outdoor rescue costs, but multiple laws and regulations have established clear responsibility frameworks, and the social consensus of "whoever violates the rules shall bear the responsibility" is irrefutable. This also serves as a warning to backpackers once again: no adventure should cross the legal red line. Before embarking on an adventure, carefully evaluate personal abilities and make sufficient preparations, which is the true respect for nature, life, and rules. (New Society)