Shared languages, culture, and belief systems join different nationalities across state borders. In the China-Vietnam borderland county of Malipo, Yunnan, many Vietnamese migrant workers marry Chinese women, and many ‘Vietnamese brides’ are sent across the border into unknown families in search of a better life. In fact, during interviews, an elementary school teacher shared that some Chinese students who cannot speak Mandarin very well flock together with their Vietnamese counterparts (who also attend school in China), and even curse in Vietnamese or their own ethnic languages against those who ridicule them for not speaking Mandarin. The intertwined, multi-level, and complicated identities based on locale, ethnicity, and nationality know no borders. Despite this, COVID-prevention measures have erected iron fences that physically and forcefully redrawn the lines of identity and belonging.