This year, a military conscription quota of 14 recruits in Guangdong Province was fulfilled by Zhongshan, all of whom are college students. Three of them are college graduates. Five of them are from UESTC, Zhongshan Institute, which is a record high.

With neat short hair, young faces and bright smiles, new conscripts from Zhongshan Institute were  undergoing training at Wuguishan National Defense Education Base.

Liang Ziying, 22, is the most hard-working one. She recently graduated from Zhongshan Institute with a major in finance and has been selected by special forces cadres for her excellent comprehensive performance. She will soon become a member of a special forces group in Yunnan Province.

"I have a plan for my life; to study hard in school and join the army after graduation. I want to stay in the army and become a professional soldier step by step." Influenced by elder generation, Liang Ziying dreamed of becoming a soldier since childhood.

"Though I am not fully acquainted with Zhongshan yet, I am going to join the army far away," said Zeng Qiuyuan, a sophomore of Zhongshan Institute. She is from Chaozhou, and an army detachment in Yunnan will be her next stop.

In 2019, one of Qiu Yuan's distant cousins who took part in grand military parade at Tian'anmen Square on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China became the pride of the whole family. Qiu Yuan made her cousin her role model. She imagined her own valiant and heroic image in military uniform in her mind time and again.

It is reported that this year, a total of 35 excellent students from Zhongshan Institute have joined the army. In addtion, more than 60 students signed up to enlist from their birthplace, a record high.