Female soldiers of the three services of the Chinese People's Liberation Army march in a parade of the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, in central Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 1, 2009. (Xinhua/Li Xiaoguo)
BEIJING, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) - A military formation, consisting of women soldiers from the land, naval and air forces, made its debut in the National Day military parade in Beijing on Thursday.
The formation had 378 soldiers, 26 more than other groups and also the largest in the world's modern military parade history.
The troops, with an average age of 22 and height of 169 cm, were from ten ethnic groups, including Han, Manchu, Hui, Mongolia,Tibetan, Miao, Zhuang, Li, Yao and Qiang.
Among the group is Tang Tian, who is pursuing her PhD degree in epidemiology.
The 26-year-old said in an interview with Xinhua earlier that she never thought "walking" could be much harder than passing the exams for the PhD program.
The young women, however, have displayed the same determination and will power as men and had trained themselves even harder.
Qin Yuyan, of Qiang ethnic minority from Beichuan, southwestern province of Sichuan, applied to join the formation even shortly after her surgical operation.
"Please let me represent the Qiang ethnic group, Beichuan and the quake-hit region, and be reviewed by the motherland and people, and express my heartfelt gratitude," she wrote.
Qin, a student from the Bethune Military Medical College, lost seven relatives during the Wenchuan earthquake in May last year.
