The border region described in this article is the area in which the three provinces of Guizhou, Guangxi, and Yunnan converge and where Han Chinese, the Buyi minority, and the Miao minority are intermingled. This border region is not remote, because the Nan-Kun Railroad (a line connecting Nanning, Guangxi, with Kunming, Yunnan-Trans.) runs through it. Neither is it really accessible, as it is the area into which the Miao people have retreated ever deeper into the mountains to find a home where they can feel safe. In this article, the author describes life, culture, and education in the border region, focusing on the following themes: (1) the railroad as a framework for the nation and the market; (2) the evolution of the conceptual world in the border area; and (3) the effect of increased social mobility.