Stories behind National Day military parades: grandiosity, tenderness and embarrassment

During the 13 military parades since the founding of New China, we have witnessed spectacular scenes of a mighty force marching orderly for review, along with soaring fighter jets and roaring military vehicles. At the same time, we have emotional stories about soldiers who are father and son and twin sisters. There also were some embarrassments such as horse-drawn cannons and armored cars stalling due to the technology at that time. Looking back at previous military parades and exploring the stories behind them, we can discover their various features.

Jiang Tingyu, a researcher from the Military Museum and an expert in military history, did some in-depth research into the previous National Day military parades and compiled a book. He told reporters some impressive stories about the parades.

Father-son tank commanders and beautiful twin-sister soldiers

During the inspection of the guard for the founding ceremony of New China, Dong Laifu, a famous war hero, drove the first tank of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and led over one hundred heavy and medium tanks across Tiananmen Square for review. The tank, called “Hero”, was the commanding vehicle in the tank division. After 35 years, Dong Jixiong, the son of Dong Laifu, was the commander of the first tank in the tank division reviewed on the 35th National Day in 1984. The father and son were the first and sixteenth commanders of the same tank. The number of the tank, “102”, remained unchanged; however, the tank was once seized from the Japanese army and later replaced by a domestically-manufactured main battle tank.

According to Jiang Tingyu, the “Hero” tank, once driven by Dong Laifu, is now displayed at the Military Museum.

In the grand military parade of the 50th National Day in 1999, Zhang Weiwei and Zhang Lili, twin sisters from Shijiazhuang Normal Bethune Medical College (BMC), jointly served as captain of the women soldiers division. Their charm was a hot topic among Chinese people, and their names and stories attracted extensive coverage from the media.

The division of women soldiers is undoubtedly considered the highlight of the military parade. It was reported that a pair of twin sisters from Henan Province were shortlisted as candidates of the women’s division to be reviewed on the 60th National Day this year and that they are currently in training. Many people are interested to see if they can make their debut this October.