A party was held at Huagui Garden in the Shunde District of Foshan on November 19 to see off 140 new army recruits who were leaving for Tibet.
Huang Junsheng, commander of the Foshan Military Sub-district, congratulated the newly trained soldiers ahead of their first mission. He called them role models for young people because they were making sacrifices in defence of the nation.
Xian Ruilun, deputy mayor of Foshan, said he had solid respect for the new soldiers.
'As military reform moves forward, highly-educated young people will become a major force in the People's Liberation Army,' he said.
'I hope the new recruits will work hard and contribute to the modernisation of national defence and military.'
Following military reforms, the number of university graduates joining the army has been on the rise. There were quite a few university graduates among the 140-man delegation.
One of the recruits, Huo Qiliang, who studies at Shunde Polytechnic, said: 'I really wanted to experience life in the army after watching the national-day military parade.'