Five Students from Lanzhou University Narrate Their Glorious Stories in the Military Parade

发布时间:2019-10-11  字体大小T|T
       The National Day this year witnessed a grand military parade provided by the people’s army in celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Every Chinese people were deeply astounded by this magnificent and mighty parade. In the showcase, the formations of researchers and civilian personnel made their debut, among which Shen Xingyu, Zhao Shuai, Shao Xiancheng, Tu Houwang, Yue Hao are graduates from Lanzhou University. On October 9th, those five soldiers on parade, after returning to their respective work places, received an exclusive interview with our reporter and shared their stories in this parade. 
       When asked how it felt to march through Tian’anmen Square in a military fashion, all of them answered in one voice: I felt very proud!
Scientific Researchers can not only Hold a Pen, but also a Gun!
       Shen Xingyu, a 2013 Computer Science and Technology major of School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, now is working for a master’s degree in National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) in Wuhan Province.
       “I have been dreaming for the green military camp since childhood. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is solemn and holy. It is those lovely people who lead us to a happy and peaceful life. That’s why I choose to join the army to dedicate myself to the service of my country,”Shen said in the interview.
       This National Day parade places exact demands on height, physical ability and many other aspects of team members. Although numbers of people registered for his formation, a large proportion of them failed to pass the examination of physical fitness and queue movement. In the end nearly half were eliminated. Their training began in the spring and yet ended in the autumn. They repeated the same action about 10 hours a day and many of them suffered from edema with their feet and knees. But for most of them, the difficulty was not only their physical pains, but also the strict test mentally. It was a long summer in Beijing; you could not find a patch of shade at the training ground; the asphalt roads seemed boundless; and the ground temperature reached as high as 70 degrees centigrade. The clothes they wore in the training were always wet from dawn till dusk and the black leather shoes were so hot that their feet were unable to feel. Besides, each of them was under great pressure with one examination after another.
       As part of PLA scientific researchers, he felt very proud to have him on parade from the Party and the people; he also proved to the world: scientific researchers can not only hold a pen, but also a gun! After the parade finished, as his team returned to bus, a little child held by his mom raised his little young hand and made a military salute to them and said in a young voice, ”Thank you for your hard work, my lovely people's liberation army uncles!” Just at that moment, a sense of happiness and affection rushed to his mind and he felt that all pains and tiredness were deserved!
       When asked future plans, Shen concluded simply,” I will make greater efforts in my study and work, and strive for making more, greater and better contributions to my country!”
       Zhao Shuai, graduate of 2018, an Atmospheric Sciences major of College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, now is working in an army in Chongqing City, China.
       According to Zhao, he was an average student in college and had no distinct performance. In 2014, after the college entrance examination, he decided to become a national defense student of Lanzhou University, which was to do with his certain sentiment with army.
       Having experienced a series of examination procedures, Zhao entered the formation for training. During the whole period of training, the total elimination rate was up to 70 percent. His formation exercised for 10 hours a day for 190 days from March 25th to October 1st.
       “There are few days for us to have a complete break during training.” Zhao said, there were three most bitter and tired periods. The first one was when he entered the formation before long. For he was injured with his knee, he had to endure the pains if he wanted to participate. In April, he always failed to move his knee for a couple of minutes after awakening in the noon. He suffered greatly from his injured knees, yet for being afraid of being phased out, he chose to keep silent about his sufferings. The second one was the time he practiced the goose step. For his ankle was hurt, he was unable to stand steadily after a couple of goose steps. Then he stamped his feet headily until his ankle was numb and therefore he could not feel the ache. At that time, many of them went lame, but their goose steps were sonorous and forceful. The third one was with the high temperature of July. Each day they practiced for one hour and their trousers would be totally wet, not to mention their upper garment.
       Zhao remembered clearly that, on April 25th, the elder brother on his lower berth received a notice that he was eliminated and requested to leave the formation the next day. Zhao asked him,” what happened to you? Our coach has said that you can join the formation if you’d like to. You can do it with such seriousness. “He said,” yes, but I have a poor physical flexibility. It’s no use to make more efforts. I don’t want to drag all of you down. Brothers, come on!” ”Watching his eyes full of tears and unable to say one word, Zhao untied his necktie and held him, saying,” my brother, I go to Tian’anmen Square with your necktie. Let’s walk there together!”
       On October 1st of the military parade, Zhao was awake at half past two o’clock in the morning. The moment the whistle sounded, Zhao was sober at once. He went to the parade ground with many feelings, not only the feeling of pride, honor, but also the huge pressure brought by the task. “The moment he finished 96-metre goose steps, his eyes were wet. However, when glancing at thousands of people, he kept not shedding tears.” Zhao said, on that day, he passed Tian’anmen Square with the necktie of that elder brother… …
“96 Metres, 128 Steps, 66 Seconds”, those Three Numbers are Rooted in his Mind
       Shao Xiancheng, grade 2014, an Atmospheric Sciences major of College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, now is working for a troop in Weifang City, Shandong Province.
       “I have been influenced by military conscription when I was in middle school. I dreamed of becoming a true soldier one day! The formation I was in was formed finally after experiencing many times of evaluations. After the first evaluation, there were over 800 people to receive further training in Zhangqiu District, Jinan City, over 400 people to receive further training in Beijing and yet only 352 people able to pass Tian’anmen Square,” said Shao in the interview.
       The training of the formation started from March 25th to October 1st. The whole process must be greatly tired and we can get some clues from their water glasses. They had big cups containing 4 jin and was able to drank three bottles a day. They wore out 4 pairs of leather shoes, practicing not only kicking legs, but also swing arms. When kicking legs, they must trample the ground with their feet till without the sense of pains; when swing arms, they must wear out the clothes of the lateral thigh with their hands. 
       On October 1, hegoose-stepped through Tiananmen Square in a military uniform and new leather shoes with a sense of pride. “96 meters”, “128 steps”, and “66 seconds” have been deeply rooted in his heart after more than six months of intensive training. To have been paraded by President Xi and the people made himextremely proud and excited. He hopes that in his future work and life, he will always be as brave as he was when he walked through Tiananmen Square on the day of the parade, braving hardships and dangers, and keeping the spirit of the parade going.
       During the whole training process, he was particularly moved by one of his teammates. Just two days before the official mission, a comrade of the square team accidentally burned his thigh with boiling water and was advised not to play in the parade. Until now, Shao Xiancheng still remembers his teary eyes. In spite of so much hardship and tiredness, he ruined everything just because of his carelessness, but he finally accepted the result for the sake of the overall interests of the team.
Two Brothers in the Parade, Winning Glory for Their Country
       From 2011 to 2015, he studied in the National Defense Class of Applied Meteorology at the College of Atmospheric Sciences of Lanzhou University. After graduating from undergraduate school, he was sent to the College of Computer Science and Technology of National University of Defense Technology with excellent grades.
       'I have had a dream of being a soldier since my childhood. My brother was also a soldier, which had a great influence on me. We both agreed to join the army. In 2015, my brother participated in the '9 · 3' military parade. During the anniversary parade, he especially made a phone call and told me: 'In the military uniform, we must be able to live up to this suit, and we must make every move to be better.' 'Yue Hao recalled in an interview.
       Yue Hao volunteered to participate in the National Day parade. From March 3rd, he participated in the selection training organized by the Academy of Military Sciences. On March 18th, he officially participated in the basic training in camps of the InstituteResearch Team of the academy and entered the drill camp intensive training in late May. After a number of fatigue periods and injuries, with sweat and difficulties he could drink 3 liters of water a day. The shirt turned from blue to white. The leather shoes were worn out 3 times. The marks of the vest and the belt of the gun are especially obvious when he took off his coat. The most painful time is to wear four or five pounds of leggings training. Every day, two steps, one step at a time, he hit the ground. The steel bars in the leggings hit the ankle, which makes the ankle swollen and disappeared, again and again. It's a huge torment when hitting the ground. At the same time, he suffered from Achilles tendinitis due to long-term excessive exertion of his legs, and his knee meniscus was damaged, too. The pain was intolerable, and he could not sleep well at night. But he never took a sick leave during training, and each time he carried it off by applying plaster and taking painkillers.
       It is based on hard and solid training that Yue Hao's personal movements have been improved faster. Due to the standard of individual training movements, as one of the “fast legs” of the platoon in the early basic training he is called 'Scud', and in the one-step, two-step and one-step training, it is designated by the coach as the best one to perform the 'reaction password' in the platoon. He is often used as a 'demonstration soldier' to assist the coach in training, and has been praised many times by the square team, and has been rated as the star of daily training and the star of monthly training.
“Although there has been two rehearsals in Tiananmen Square in September, when he himself heard the sound of countdown bells, the rumble of a gun salute, the greetings of the President Xi and the shouts of the audience on the day of the parade, he felt more proud than ever before. Through this military parade, I know that only with concerted efforts and sincere unity can we build the Great Wall of Steel; only through hard work and perseverance can we show excellent work style; and only by being precise and meticulous and paying attention to specifications can we create a world-class team. ' Yue Hao said.
Simple actions repeated, repeated actions fine
       As a graduate of majoring inatmospheric sciences in College of Atmospheric Sciences of Lanzhou University, he is now studying for a master's degree in National University of Defense Technology.
       Tu Houwang said that the training for more than half a year was very hard. The initial period was more than two months of basic training in the camp. When he first enter the camp, he stood in the army all day. In strict accordance with the rules and regulations, the coach corrects his incorrect movements. He has an 'O' leg, so the two legs cannot always be brought together completely. In order to solve this problem, the coach forcibly tied his legs with a backpack rope and was not allowed to loosen while standing in military posture and sleeping.
       In April, they began to practice goose-stepping, kicking in place, moving one step at a time, moving one step at a time, and walking at a fast and slow pace. When practicing kicking in place, sandbags with steel bars are tied to both legs to exercise leg strength. Each kick is required to be as fast as possible, with a kick height of 30 centimeters. After a 10- minute practice, he would sweating profusely. Half an hour later, his body would be soaked. With the progress of training, there were more and more injuries on his body. When he began to kick in place, he pulled the muscle in the front of his right leg so hard that he felt severe pain as soon as he moved, because he hit the ground too hard and his ankle was swollen. The soles of his feet are too swollen to put on leather shoes. In order not to be left behind for training, he had to cut his leather shoes from behind and barely put them in. At the end of May, he officially entered the drill campwhere coach assessed more. After entering July, the training became harder and harder, and one day he had to drink half a bucket of pure water alone. The hardest moment of every day is at 3pm, he needs to stand facing the sun for an hour and a half, the scorching sun bakes the earth, the frying pan-like ground transfers heat to the heels through the soles of the shoes, and sweat flows down from the body like a stream. Milky white sweat mixed with sunscreen often flows into the eyes, making him 'dazzled' with pain. In August, he unfortunately got otitis media and basically lost sound in his left ear. The ear canal was blocked because of swelling around it. Sometimes he could only sleep for three hours a night because of the pain. During training, he could not hear the marching music clearly and often could not grasp the beat. While training, he tried to find a way to go to the military station for treatment, fearing that he would be eliminated because of otitis media. Fortunately, his left ear gradually recovered after more than a week.
       During the training period, someone will be eliminated at any time because his body cannot support or his movements are not up to standard. He is under great pressure and strives for excellence. In the scorching training ground, he maintains the height of each kick strictly at 30 centimeters, and every step forward 75 centimeters. And he makes every step that falls has a sonorous sound.
       'After a lot of selection and elimination, I finally stood on the parade ground. When the military band played the national anthem and sang the national anthem together, I was so excited. I was the tenth in the seventh row, and when I walked in front of Tiananmen Square, all my attention was focused on the alignment of the rows and the rhythm of the music. The completion of the task was the first. ' Tu Houwang said.