Girls in their early 20s are often seen wearing make-up and fashionable clothes, watching TV series and hanging out with their besties. However, three university students from Shenzhen broke such stereotypes by joining the army in Tibet in 2015.

When you first meet Zhang Mengyue, a 22-year-old from Shandong Province, your first impression might be that she is slim and delicate judging from her appearance. However, to most of her male comrades, she is a nightmare.

Every time they do drills, she always rushes to be first and many male soldiers are punished for lagging behind. “You’d better not do it if you can’t do it well” is Zhang’s principle.

Asked why she went to Tibet to join the army, Zhang said with determination, “I want to temper my will in a tough environment while I am still young.”

She didn’t tell her family that she would be a soldier on the “roof of the world” until a few days before her departure. But to her surprise, when she returned home from school for departure, all of her family were there to welcome her and her grandparents were very proud of her.

As a Japanese language major, Zhang said she wants to study law after she retires from the army. “I admire those who practice law because they are able to establish charity organizations to help the poor and those who need legal support,” Zhang said.

Chang Xinyao is the tallest of the three girls. She was also the weakest when she first arrived in Tibet.“I struggled to adjust to the plateau’s conditions. During training, I was always out of breath and would even pass out,” Chang recalled, “One time I couldn’t stand the intensity of the training and my squad leader told me to give up. But Zhang Mengyue always encouraged and supported me by staying by my side until I finished. She is like family to me.”

One incident in the army taught Chang to cherish everything and remain grateful. When they first joined the army, like other fresh soldiers they often wouldn’t eat all their food and would just throw the rest away. The platoon leader saw this and called all of them together and asked the soldier to pick up the food and eat it. Since then, no one has wasted any food.

Chang already has started to miss the other two girls despite the fact that they won’t retire until September. “I hope they don’t send me off. Otherwise I will definitely cry.”

Just like Chang Xinyao, Tong Guiying also cherishes her comrades-in-arms. “They are a group of people whom I can trust. I’m lucky to have 12 comrades like them,” Tong said. During tactical training, she and other soldiers were required to run four kilometers carrying 35-kilogram weight including a gun, a haversack and a water bottle. “The sun was scorching and our shoes and clothes were filled with sand, so we tied ourselves together with a rope. The ones ahead pulled and the ones behind pushed us to move forward,” she said. “Even though we would drift apart some days, we know that some people would always be there supporting us. They are our comrades-in-arms.”

Discipline is another thing she learned in the army. “My behavior and the way I think about things have changed a lot here. For example, we have to get up immediately once the whistle is blown. Such a habit makes me more disciplined and more cool-headed in case of emergencies,” Tong said. Reflecting on her time in the army, Tong said she chose to join the army because, in her words, “To be a soldier and to safeguard our nation has been a lifelong dream for me.”

The three girls will retire from the army this September and will come back to Shenzhen University to continue their studies.

(Yang Mei)