Zhao shows the packaged food prepared by her husband. [Photo/IC]

A family reunion often comes with romantic and touching moments. For one border soldier based in Tibet, the romance expresses itself in a cooking marathon to stock up a year's supply of food and snacks for his wife.

The border soldiers deployed in Tibetan Autonomous Region can only visit home once a year under normal conditions. For Yin Yunfeng, who gets 45-60 days leave, this is the reason he always prepares plenty of food during the annual reunion with his wife. "My wife is a teacher who barely has time to cook outside her lunch break at noon. Sometimes she had to fill her stomach with instant noodles or rice noodles, Yin said.

Surnamed Zhao, Yin's wife works at a high school in Anshun, Guizhou province. She said she was mentally prepared for the long-distance marriage but soon realized it was even harder than she expected.

The only time Zhao can enjoy a fresh meal is during the time her husband at home, she said. During Yin's vacation, he will cook nearly 1,000 dumplings and store them in the freezer so she can have more healthy food while he's gone, rather than instant noodles.

Before reporting back for duty, Yin will leave his wife many bags of snacks and hide them separately around their home. On top of each bag, he will leave his wife notes of encouragement intended as a surprise.

"I can't stop crying every time I see those notes," Zhao said.

Every departure is like life and death, but Zhao believes she can manage to stay strong and be supportive for her husband.

"He's not only left me enough food and snacks for another year, but also the warm feeling that comes with the notes," Zhao added.