This article, grounded in archival research from Chinese border  prefectures, delves into the complexities of migration dynamics,  specifically the phenomena of exodus from and return to China following  the Communist takeover in 1949. It reveals how various reforms, enforced  collectivisation and religious restrictions disrupted local lives,  causing social panic and identity crises, which led to the  disintegration of everyday life among borderland communities. Local  residents’ responses predominantly involved crossing the border to seek  refuge in Burma. The article critically scrutinises local authorities’  efforts to alleviate resultant instability, with the aim of retaining  the borderland populace and attracting back those who had left, while  also imposing the ideologies of the new communist state. Rather than  viewing these ‘illicit’ cross-border movements as mere acts of  resistance to governance, this study argues that they involved active  negotiations for a stable daily life amid socio-political upheaval. The  research contributes new insights into the micro-level mechanisms of  state-building, and the integration of borderland peoples into the new  Communist regime. Amid mass emigration and repatriation, state  engagement permeated daily life in borderland communities, facilitating  national identity formation and nation-state construction.