Diary of a weekend warrior in the PLA

Friday, August 15, 16h00: A group of people in ill-fitting People's Liberation Army fatigues is a welcome sight after six hours spent chasing them from Shenzhen to Guangzhou. The original plan was for 70 of us to travel by bus to Huangpu Youth Military Academy, in a trip the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong organised to allow civilians a taste of PLA life.

We are a mixed batch of students and professionals aged 14 to 41. Among them are Roy Fok Chi-chung, a 23-year-old lab technician and war game enthusiast; Bradley Han Hok-kwan, a 20-year-old philosophy student who has a PLA fixation; Wan Chi-keung, a 38-year-old firefighter serving Tin Shui Wai and a father of two; and Charles Chu Kin-hang, a 35-year-old insurance agent and father of one, who also volunteers for the auxiliary medical service.

Having been accidentally abandoned by the entire group after passing through immigration at Shenzhen, I arrive at the academy after spending 250 yuan (HK$232) to travel two hours by bus, one hour in a taxi and five minutes on a ferry to cross the Pearl River.

The academy, which has pummelled into shape an estimated 2,000 SAR residents since opening its doors to Hong Kong people last year, is one of more than a dozen PLA training camps in Guangdong, where mainland youths receive mandatory military training.

The academy, which includes an outdoor military museum, is described in its brochure as the 'Cradle for Future Generals'.

17h00: The barracks are livable, the courtyard and a basketball court are surrounded by trees, and I can see the Pearl River from my room. But the smell from the bathrooms is foul.

'Public toilets stink in Hong Kong too, but you can just wait until you find a cleaner bathroom in a hotel or something. Here, you have no choice. I could not do this every day,' says Ngai Hoi-man, a kindergarten teacher and one of 15 females in the group. (There are 300 people altogether in military training, organised by various organisations in Hong Kong.) I slip into my uniform - a pair of khaki canvas shoes, camouflage trousers, jacket and hat - while eyeing my surroundings. Each room accommodates 10 people, all male or all female. Mosquito nets, wool blankets and small pillows are folded neatly on the metal bunk beds. A thick plank of wood and a bamboo mat take the place of a mattress.