Glorious Years

Half a century having passed， that unforgettable experience is still vivid in my grandfather’s mind.

Lidaocai： Unforgettable！ Even though more than 50 years have passed， it is just like yesterday. The whole process can be recalled. Taking part in such activities meant great trust from the Party. If one does not fulfill this obligation， he will fail to live up to expectations of his country. So， no one ever said those words such as bitterness， tiredness， and flinching. At that time， we were young and full of courage to take such painstaking task.

In July 1951， my grandfather who was 17-year old then joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army， and was assigned to the tank and self-propelled artillery regiment， serving as a mechanic in the reparation company. In 1956， He was sent to the Third Tank Military Academy in Beijing. At the beginning of 1958， the school received order from the superior to set up a 205-member team， on behalf of the armored system to participate in the military parade on National Day.

Lidaocai： All of these fifteen teams were unarmed formations with members coming from nationwide military academies. There are many armored military academies such as the First Academy of Tank， the Second Academy of Tank， and Fourth Academy of Tank. However， armored forces could not all participate in the military parade on National Day. And our college was lucky enough to be the only one chosen to perform in the parade.

After layers of strict screening， my grandfather stood out in a few students selected to the parade team， but the difficulty of fully-enclosed concentrated training was beyond their imagination.

Lidaocai： Hard and boring. With one leg standing， the other leg stepped out. Such position should be kept for more than five minutes. And then six or seven minutes later， you could finally get both of your feet on the ground. Some strides were larger than the standard， while some smaller. It was difficult to keep the toes in a straight line. Not until each stride made the same distance could a straight line of toes be maintained. It is 270 meters in length from the east totem pillar on the Tiananmen Square to the west totem pillar， which equals 360 strides. You must guarantee taking exact 360 strides to finish it. It seems simple， but the truth is not.

The hardship and boredom of training are hard to imagine， but my grandfather held on to the end， with his perseverance and indomitable spirit， to show the tenacious will of Chinese soldiers.

Lidaocai： If your action is not good， it will affect the whole team’s performance. This is not your personal thing. So， we were sparing no effort to practice. In order to encourage students， the school authorities carried out regular review. Once selected as the advanced soldier， you could get a certificate of honor from school’s Political Department. In four months or so， I got seven or eight certificates of honor. It has been more than 50 years since the year 1958.

Success comes from perspiration which also earns people's admiration and respect for Chinese soldiers.

Lidaocai： The Temple of Heaven has a lot of tourists. We usually practiced near the Danbi Bridge especially during the joint training hour. Visitors lingered on seeing us practicing. Some visitor said： “Great uniformity！ It is not easy to be in the People’s Liberation Army. You see， sweat is blinding them， but they dare not to rub.” During the break， a British reporter asked： “Sir， how much money do you make a day？” we said： “We are the people's army， and this is our duty. So we make no extra money for this.” This is probably the answer. The reporter was shocked with his thumb up， which meant that the Chinese army is indeed different from those of western countries.

Unfortunately， my grandfather has not seen any video footage or photos of that military parade. Only a recording keeps my grandfather’s memory from fading away for more than half a century.

Lidaocai： After listening to this song， I feel very excited. Accompanied by this music， we marched together. A stride forward， “pop，pop”， you hear nothing but the sound ， pop， pop， pop... ...

This sound has kept echoing for half a century. And the sonorous stride of the Republic has been deeply impressed in my grandfather's heart

I grew up on shoulders of my grandfather with whom I have the closest relation. Regrettably， I found no photo with only two of us in. Now I am 24 years old as my grandpa reaching 81. Fortunately， he can still accompany me. I want to fulfill all his dreams and wishes. During my undergraduate years， I once made a graduation design to commemorate the bygone youth of grandfather. Now， this short video is still in memory of those glorious years.

作者簡介：李雪丹（1992.12-），女，漢族，籍貫：山東蓬萊，齊魯工業大學藝術學院，16級在讀研究生，碩士學位，專業：藝術設計，研究方向：裝飾藝術設計。