Story Five

Zan Fan's injured foot [Photo by Lai Qiaoquan]

Zeng Pan, fifth year as corporal. On his right ankle there is a 10-centimeter-long scar.

Once an artilleryman holding the steering wheel, he leapt in joy when the "Third Company" changed his original unit to special operations.

On the afternoon of May 16, 2014, he sailed across the sea to land on the islands several times, an exercise that was extremely physically demanding. Before the end of the exercise, a small competition was organized in which participation was voluntary. As usual, he was the first one to join. When climbing over a 5-meter net wall, he directly jumped down from it to save time.

Unfortunately, he fell on the ground after an unbalanced landing. He struggled to stand up, only to find that he had lost the strength in his right foot which was swollen up right away.

"The drivers in the army were usually more relaxed. Why did you want to seek out hardships for yourself?"

"For soldiers, we all wanted to experience something different."

"Does it hurt now?"

"It was very painful at that time. Now whenever it rains, I can feel the tickle pain, just like bitten by mosquitoes."

"For how long did you rest after the injury?"

"About 4-5 months. I started the training before the end of this year."

"Are you the only child in your family? Did you tell them about your injury?"

"Yes, I am the only boy. But I didn't tell them about the injury, so I don't think they know about it. It was fine that I could pull it through by myself."

"Do you still have the courage as before to make the 400-meter obstacle running by sailing across the sea to land on the islands?"

"Yes!"

When I came for the interview, Zeng Pan was practicing one subject called "climb buildings with rope". He could climb up to a 20-meter building in one minute with the rope, which required the coordinated movements of both hands and feet. As the hands were grabbing the rope, the feet should kick up to climb the wall. Because of that, the ankles had to be maintained in an awkward position all the time.

Zeng said: "When applying too much strength sometimes, I would feel some stiffness in my feet. But when I climbed to the top of the buildings, I could just shake them and it would be fine."

Zha Hongshuai, squad leader of male soldiers who accompanied me during the interview, told me that Zeng Pan is now able to run the 5 km exercise and participate in the 50 km combat physical training like the other soldiers. He was a tough man.

In the past three days when I conducted interviews with the officers and soldiers in the "Third Company", I learned the definition of optimism from them, who would often laugh off their injuries. I believe it is these stories behind their scars that serve as the best interpretation of how China aims to build a strong and powerful army.

Jia Ying and Lai Qiaoyan contributed to this story