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Naomi Ng

China’s People’s Liberation Army showed off new uniforms in a parade rehearsal for Thursday’s big day. The army has come a long way since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949 when troops were barely able to scrape together a matching kit.
Since then, the Central Military Commission has made four major uniform changes, along with new outfits especially for important parades. Here’s a look at how the styles have changed.
 
October 1, 1955
6th anniversary of People’s Republic of China


The first formal uniform was introduced after the establishment of the 10 marshals and other rankings for the PLA’s founding fathers
Soldiers wore a brownish-green uniform decorated with collar badges, known as ‘Type 55’
Male soldiers wore boat-shaped hats and women soldiers wore berets
Senior officers wore peaked caps and had simple epaulettes

 
1965 - Ranks go out


Ranks were cancelled a year before the Cultural Revolution to pave way for Mao Zedong to strengthen communist ideology
Soldiers all donned the same military green ‘Type 65’ uniform, doing away with the epaulettes, and peaked caps as they were considered excessive decoration
Instead, caps featured the communist red star, and two red badges sewn onto the collars
The only way to recognise senior officers was to count the pockets on their shirts – officers had four, while soldiers had two
Even Mao Zedong himself was pictured wearing the uniform, along with the infamous Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution

 
1988 - Ranks come back


The Central Military Commission re-established the ranking system, designing new ‘Type 87’ uniforms
The designers would allowed to learn from Western uniform styles, adopting camouflage for battledress, and separate ceremonial and service uniforms
The uniforms included more than 10 kinds of special clothing for soldiers with chemical units, tank crew members and other armed forces
They featured different badges, epaulettes, armbands and belts for different ranks

 
August 1, 2007
PLA’s 80th anniversary


The ‘Type 07’ uniforms are introduced, the most comprehensive overhaul of military dress to date. The current ones are based on this style
Army uniforms are pine green, the navy’s ones are white, while the air force wears navy blue
Comes in four basic categories with 644 variations
Badges, armbands and collar insignia were redesigned to include elements that show the Chinese flag, military flag, the Great Wall and Tiananmen Square

 
October 1, 2009
60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China


‘Type 07’ uniforms publicly shown for first time
PLA Daily lavished praise on their ‘modern design, harmonious and solemn colours, comfortable and well-tailored sizes, and better fabrics and quality’.
Ornaments like chest badges, name bars, ribbons and other insignia have been added. ‘Caps with curled brims,’ the report noted, ‘have been issued for the first time to present a more charming demeanour for women soldiers’.

 
September 3, 2015
70th anniversary of the end of second world war


Fifteen newly designed parade uniforms are shown, including a new camouflage one and another for multi-terrain soldiers
The style makes reference to the uniforms from the second world war, while adding modern elements to the ‘Type 07’ uniform
Specially designed armbands and decorative medals adopted that embody the theme of the parade
People’s Daily heaped praise on the “elegant fabrics that are both breathable and comfortable”
Newspaper also spoke highly of redesigned A-line dress uniforms for women that are fitted and youthful to “better showcase women’s body lines”.

Sources: Xinhua, People’s Daily, PLA Daily, Guangzhou Daily, News.qq.com


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PLA soldiers take part in training for the military parade in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua

Rows of soldiers rehearse for the parade in Beijing on Saturday. Photo: Simon Song

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News

China

Diplomacy

From frumpy green coats in the Mao era to curled caps to add 'charm' to women soldiers, the military's uniforms have come a long way


It took decades, but PLA finally emerges victorious in style revolution

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From frumpy green coats in the Mao era to curled caps to add 'charm' to women soldiers, the military's uniforms have come a long way

From frumpy green coats in the Mao era to curled caps to add 'charm' to women soldiers, the military's uniforms have come a long way