CLEAN AND ORDERLY: A corner of the soldiers' dormitory (WEI YAO)

Daily life and study

The training and protocol duties of the GHTS are stressful, but their life in their spare time is colorful and varied. Besides recreation such as billiards and table tennis, all dormitory buildings are equipped with a reading room. The regiment offers correspondence courses for the soldiers and encourages them to take part in examinations for self-education.

"All the officers in the regiment have completed tertiary education at one level or another. They have at least an associate degree, and 95 percent of them have bachelor's degrees," said Liu. "And about 90 percent of the soldiers acquired academic certificates during the period of enlistment."

"Men who have been trained here can overcome any kind of difficulties. The correspondence courses are also very helpful for our future careers," Deng said. He has not yet considered the question of whether or not to continue to serve in the army or find some other kind of job after training. Deng said right now he just wants to try his best to qualify as an honor guard.

"Most of the members of the GHTS will have a bright future after enlistment. For example, of the 160 soldiers who retired from military service last year, seven became public servants, 53 are employed by airline companies and most of the others are employed by large and middle-sized enterprises," Liu said.

Popularity

The strict selection and training have made the GHTS an elite team. Their frequent appearance on the TV in welcoming ceremonies for visiting foreign leaders, National Day parades and also at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, as well as performances at many significant occasions where friendly foreign countries are involved, has gained the team high popularity both at home and overseas.

In the autumn of 1986, England's Queen Elizabeth II visited China. After she viewed the excellent performance of the Chinese GHTS, she was so amazed that she made a special request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China for a Chinese honor guard to be her bodyguard during her tour.

Xie Lujiang, then an honor guard, was assigned to the mission. At her farewell banquet on a yacht in Shanghai, Xie stood still for more than six hours, and the Queen was deeply touched. She said the Chinese honor guards were highly disciplined and were unparalleled.

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Venezuela's independence, the Venezuelan Government invited countries, including China, to attend the military parade creating an international marching formation. To the surprise of all, when Chinese honor guards appeared at the rehearsal, they immediately took the spotlight. Their straight posture and exceptional spirit attracted admiration, and soldiers from other countries stepped forward to take photographs.

In 2010, when a 34-member Chinese honor guard team appeared in the marching formation in central Mexico City in celebration of Mexico's 200th anniversary, local audiences gave forth thunderous cheers and applause. "China! China!" Spectators shouted eagerly at the parading soldiers as they strode forward in strict formation in valiant posture and synchronized steps before tens of thousands of people.

In the past few years, members of the GHTS have also been invited to Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mauritania to help train their honor guards.

"Those young men are great. Their way of movement is marvelous," Ediz Tiyansan, a Beijing-based correspondent for the Turkish Radio and Television Corp., said after seeing the GHTS perform. He said the performance of the guards was the best that he has seen.

"This media day is really a sign that the PLA is becoming more and more open," said Yang Caiwei of Sanlih E-Television Co. Ltd. from Taiwan.

Journalists also said the PLA should open more military facilities to foreign media to help them deepen their understanding of China's armed forces and their modernization drive.

"I do hope China's military will continue to improve its openness and transparency," said Andrey Evkin, Beijing bureau correspondent for the Itar-Tass News Agency.

"It is indeed a good way to tell the world about China's military development," said Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng.