Brand new female soldier groups scheduled to participate in the military parade

The twin-sisters think alike

Fan Jingjin and Fan Jingying are twin-sisters from the female soldier group. They were born in Shanghai on January 19, 1989, with only two minutes difference. At first, other group members could not distinguish one from the other because in appearance they are identical to each other.

The twin-sisters share many ideas and cooperate closely in training. They resemble each other in swinging their arms and lifting their legs, and if one of them makes a mistake, the other will make the same mistake. Later, other group member gradually discovered a difference between them: both of the sisters like to tilt their heads in training, and one usually tilts her head to the left and the other usually tilts her head to the right. After the hard training, both the twin-sisters' names have been put on the honor roll because they finally can make exactly the same movements.

A girl from Beichcuan participated in the military parade with a grateful heart

Qin Yuyan, a girl from Qiang ethnic group, came from Beichuan, Sichuan Province. In the big earthquake on May 12, 2008, she lost seven of her loved ones. After the earthquake, she, studying at Bethune Military Medical College at the time, immediately asked to go to the disaster area, but was prevented by her comrades-in-arms.

When the female soldier group was first being assembled, Qin, who was undergoing an operation in the hospital, asked to join the group again. One week after the operation, she walked on to the training ground. On several occasions, Qin said "round up" in her sleep, which made all of the girls in her dormitory sit up.

In the group consisting of several hundred girls, Qin does not necessarily stand out. "I think that I took part in the military parade not only to represent the female soldiers in China but also for my fellow countrymen." Qin said, "When we pass the Tiananmen Square, maybe the national people cannot see my appearance clearly but they can certainly feel the grateful heart of an ethnic Qiang girl."

A Ph.D. student is at the head of the group

26 year old Tang Tian, who is from Chongqing, is a Ph.D. candidate majoring in epidemiology. Shortly after taking the Ph.D. degree exam in mid-March, she rushed to the Beijing military parade village to participate in the training. After a list of successful candidates was published, a notice from the Third Military Medical University was sent directly to the military parade village indicating that Tang had passed the exam. Therefore, among the soldiers to be reviewed, Tang was among those with the highest academic qualifications.

Before participating in the training, Tang did not expect that goose-stepping would be more difficult than preparing for the Ph.D. degree. "In the first few days when I came to military parade village, I tried my best to practice these movements but still dragged down my entire row."

Through her efforts, Tang Tian is now training well and has been transferred to the first row of the female soldier group after several examinations. "I hope that on National Day, my parents and teachers can see me marching proudly through Tiananmen on TV. I am at the head of the group, please find me!" Tang Tian said with a lovely smile.

Translated by LOTO