Members of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) honor guard in charge of Tuesday’s National Day flag-raising ceremony in Tian'anmen Square in the Chinese capital Beijing said they were proud of their work, and would strive to do better with hard training.
During the ceremony, held to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese national flag was escorted and raised by a 96-member honor guard.
"The national flag represents the sovereignty of our country. I am especially proud to be able to raise the most special national flag of our motherland at Tiananmen Square," said Han Chao, one of the honor guards.
"To be able to stand at the base and unfurl the national flag, that is the moment that makes all my sacrifice and trainings worthwhile. What I carried was not just a flag. It is a symbol of the faith of the people and the hope of the nation," said another guard Zhang Wei.
The honor guard is responsible for dawn flag-raising ceremonies all year, not just on National Day, and are used to adapting their wake-up times to different times of year.
"The earliest flag raising time in the summer is 4:45, and we have to do a series of preparations ahead of the ceremony, such as uniform preparation and warm-up drills, so the earliest wake-up time for us is 3:20 in the morning," said Zhang Tianlong, captain of the flag-raising honor guard.
Han told reporters that becoming a member of the honor guard was his childhood dream, so he joined the PLA after graduating from college and, after a full year of hard training, he is now marching in the front row of the formation.
"Being in the front row, even the slightest difference in speed from the others will be very noticeable to the audience, so I have to train extra hard to make sure I can keep my every move the way it should be," said Han.
The weather is another major challenge, in addition to the irregular schedule and high pressure.
"I still remember the downpour the other day. There were purple lightning bolts in the sky and the gale made me, then a new member, very nervous even before we left the gate of the Tian'anmen Rostrum. Some experienced comrades encouraged us, and we successfully completed the task that day. Days later, an online influencer drew a picture of us walking along Chang'an Avenue under purple lightning. The comments on social media all said that the PLA soldiers and the flag-raising honor guard looked really handsome," said flag-raising honor guard member Liu Changfeng.
Honor guard members share their pride at raising national flag in Tian'anmen Square
