THE pageantry of the PRC's 60th anniversary military parade celebrating National Day stirred the hearts of the nation. It reinforced a sense of patriotism and pride and brought about a surge in army enlistments.

Finding Honor in Service

    The men and women who have served in the nation's military have always held a place of honor and enjoyed an elevated social status since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

    "Servicemen were highly admired in the 1950s," remarks Cheng Yanming, a 75-year-old veteran. After graduating from high school in 1956, Cheng signed up for the examination of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Institute of Surveying and Mapping. Subsequently, he spent 38 years in the army and "never felt any regret" over his choice.

    Many women consider marrying a serviceman to be an ideal choice. The Social Survey Center of China Youth Daily found that 20.5 percent of women are in favor of choosing servicemen for husbands, just behind men with careers in IT (45.1 percent), public service (37.9 percent), medical profession (35.6 percent) and legal profession (29.5 percent).

    Particularly following the 2009 National Day military parade, there is greater prestige associated with solidering among the nation's youth. Liu Guixia, a female student in the Tsinghua University School of Law, applied for the army almost immediately after graduation. "The country's 60th anniversary grand military parade had a big effect on me; I couldn't wait to become a bright and brave soldier," Liu says excitedly.

    In the past, women could be admitted into the army only on the recommendation of their school, or work unit, or place of residence. Since 2009, recruitment of female soldiers has been open to the public. To encourage university graduates to join the army, the age limit has been extended to 24 for women holding a bachelor's degree.

Marrying a serviceman is a romantic and practical choice.                                           China Foto Press

Recruiting on the Nation's Campuses

    On November 1, 2009 over 3,000 young people in Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan Province, signed up to join the army. Forty percent of them had at least a junior college level education or above. Du Kun, an 18-year-old freshman from Sichuan Normal University, expressed his long held wish to become a solider. He plans to return to his school and complete his studies following his two-year compulsory military service. Officially, military service in China is compulsory for all men who attain the age of 18.

    In 2009, the country enlisted more graduates from senior high schools and universities than ever before. With the aim of improving the quality of recruits, applicants with a higher educational background are given priority in enrollment. A total of 130,000 university graduates in the country were recruited in 2009, as compared with 39,000 in 2008. The figure stood at only 1,000 in 2001, the first year servicemen were recruited on campus.