On May 9, Saturday, the guards of honor of the three services of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) marched across Moscow's Red Square during the Victory Day parade held to celebrate the end of WWII. This was the first time the PLA has dispatched a contingent to march in Red Square.
Before the commemoration event, the public's interest was aroused by an online video of the PLA's rehearsal, dressed in their formal uniforms and singing Katyusha, a Russian wartime marching song that was tremendously popular in China in the past.
Li Bentao, head of the PLA honor guard, told media that the soldiers of the 102-strong Chinese contingent are the tallest of the 10 foreign and 52 Russian formations.
Li said when he was young, he often heard his parents sing Katyusha. His grandparents also fought in World War II. Having the opportunity to represent the PLA and the China is very precious to him.
Many soldiers felt the same way.
"This is my first trip abroad, and I'm attending Russia's war victory celebration. I'm so proud. It reminds me how amazing it is to live in peace," a soldier told China Daily.
Many Chinese students studying in Russia waited by the Moscow River near Red Square, where some troops gathered before they started marching. Some students waved Chinese flags and waited for the PLA to march past.
Credit: Global Times