Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
PLA Honor Guard Battalion (1953 – 83)
PLA Honor Guard Battalion, 1st Guard Division (1983 – present)
人民解放军警卫第一师仪仗大队
2015 China Victory Day Parade
Active29 June 1953 – present
Country People's Republic of China
Allegiance Chinese Communist Party
Branch PLA Ground Force
TypeHonour Guard
RolePublic duties
Size700+
Part ofCentral Theater Command
PLA Beijing Garrison [zh]
1st Guard Division
Garrison/HQBeijing
Nickname(s)PLA Honour Guard
Motto(s)I stand for the image of a great nation
Colors  Red
  Green
MarchParade March of the People's Liberation Army
EquipmentType 56 rifle
Type 95 rifle[1]
Decorations3rd Class Merit[2]
Commanders
Deputy Political Commissar for the Beijing GarrisonMajor General Bao Zemin
Commanding OfficerSenior Colonel Han Jie
Insignia
PLA Honor Guard Shoulder Sleeve Insignia

The Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion (

color guard detail bearing the PLA flag, a tradition which began in 1981.[4]

History

George Marshall, Zhang Zhizhong, and Zhu De
inspecting the battalion in 1946
The enlarged honour guard in 1972.

In 1946, the first Chinese ceremonial unit was formed in

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
in 1959. In 1956, the battalion became a tri-service unit and in September 1957, Premier Zhou personally changed the report of the guard commander to: "Comrade [title of visiting leader], the Honor Guard of the Chinese People's Liberation Army has lined up for your inspection", which is still used today.

One of its first major state visits that the battalion was tasked with its presence was the

Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China, which set the precedent for PLA protocol on state visits. The battalion was given the responsibility in May 1977 to raise the national flag on Tiananmen Square. This was among its list of duties until December 1982.[5] In September 1983, it was renamed to the Honor Guard of the 1st Guard Division of the People's Liberation Army. In January 1986, with the approval of the Beijing Military Region headquarters, the unit was renamed for the final time to its current name. On 2 March 1992, Jiang Zemin, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, signed an order to award the honorary title of the "Jiangsu Model of the Yilong Brigade" to the battalion.[6] In December 2017, the BGHGB officially attached the Beijing Garrison Color Guard Company as part of the battalion, formerly under the People's Armed Police, which had been responsible for flag raising ceremonies for 35 years.[7]

Female soldiers in the PLA Honor Guard

On May 13, 2015, 13 female Chinese soldiers who were added to the battalion made their debut during the welcoming ceremony for the

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan.[8] Since then, female soldiers have stood shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts in the battalion on state occasions and in parades. In June 2018, the battalion created a separate female detachment composed of 55 female honor guards from the PLA as a result of the reforms in the ceremony of military honours for foreign leaders. This detachment was first reviewed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov, and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, during their visits to the capital that month.[9][10]

Mission

The battalion in the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade

Its missions include:

  • Providing honours for high ranking national personalities and foreign dignitaries in their visits to the PRC (usually inside or at the forecourt of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing)
  • Participate in wreath laying ceremonies
  • Provide the color guard company for the national
    flag raising ceremonies at Tiananmen Square
  • Providing guards of honour for state funerals of high-ranking officials of the Party and the Republic, deceased veterans of the PLA and active duty servicemen and women killed in action

Notable events and activities related to the mission

It performs the Changing of the Guard on

PRC. They have also taken part in the 2015 China Victory Day Parade
.

It also takes part in international obligations, such as the

Rome, Italy. During the Moscow parade, the contingent led by Li Bentao surprised hundreds of locals by singing the wartime Katyusha song during their march back to their living quarters during a nighttime rehearsal.[16] In September 2015, the drill team of the battalion took part in the Spasskaya Tower Military Music Festival and Tattoo with the Central Military Band of the People's Liberation Army of China at the invitation of Lieutenant General Valery Khalilov, the Senior Director of Music of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia
.

In April 2001,

goosestep style for the first time as well as shouted commands in Mandarin to which the soldiers respond with "One! Two!", which is done similarly in the PLA honor guard.[19][20][21]

In popular culture

Several news reports as well as films have been focused on the battalion, with some news stations including

cable TV network in Taiwan described Media Days as "really a sign that the PLA is becoming more and more open".[24]

Salute Battery

The State Honors Salute Battery of the PLA (

Indonesian government. On 1 August 1963, the Yilu Camp Salute Company (formally known as the People's Liberation Army Salute Company) was formally established in Nanyuan and was given the task of acting as a salute battery by Premier Zhou Enlai. Shortly after the start of the Cultural Revolution, the gun salutes stopped occurring. This practice was revived in March 1984 by the People's Armed Police as a separate unit from the original PLA unit and in December 2017, the two units merged to become the artillery salute battery of the PLA, which reports to the BGHGB headquarters.[citation needed] Today, the battery is armed with the Type 60 122 mm field gun
converted to the ceremonial role.

Ceremonial uniform

A tri-service honor guard in their distinctive Type 07 uniforms.

From its founding to 1955, the battalion did not have an official ceremonial uniform and just wore

Japanese Army after World War II. From 1955, the battalion used Chinese made ceremonial uniforms for the first time. They would continue to use these uniforms until June 1, 1965, when they reverted to using regular infantry uniforms for the next 20 years. In 1987, Central Military Commission of China ordered a reform of army uniforms, ordering the battalion ceremonial uniforms once again,[27] and on October 1, 1992, the battalion gained ceremonial sabres which it first used during the visit of President Nelson Mandela.[28] Today, the unit utilizes the pan-PLA Type 07 uniform.[29]

Gallery

  • Airmen during an arrival ceremony
    Airmen during an arrival ceremony
  • Sailors in the battalion as well as the commander stand at attention during Donald H. Rumsfeld's visit to Beijing, 19 October 2005.
    Sailors in the battalion as well as the commander stand at attention during
    Donald H. Rumsfeld's visit to Beijing
    , 19 October 2005.
  • Robert Gates inspecting the battalion at the Bayi Building, January 2011.
    Robert Gates inspecting the battalion at the Bayi Building, January 2011.
  • The tri-service color guard leading the battalion during a parade.
    The tri-service color guard leading the battalion during a parade.
  • The color guard during the arrival ceremony for Sergey Shoigu, November 2016.
    The color guard during the arrival ceremony for
    Sergey Shoigu
    , November 2016.
  • The commander of the honor guard salutes while marching to the saluting base where visiting General Peter Pace will receive the welcoming report.
    The commander of the honor guard salutes while marching to the saluting base where visiting General Peter Pace will receive the welcoming report.
  • Soldiers of the battalion marching on Red Square in June 2020.
    Soldiers of the battalion marching on Red Square in June 2020.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Китайские солдаты на параде 3 июля – Дальний Восток против более близ".
  2. ^ "中央军委主席习近平签署通令 给3个单位、5名个人记功 - 中华人民共和国国防部".
  3. ^ How to Be A Member of China's PLA's Guard of Honor?, retrieved 2021-08-21
  4. ^ "Chinese Army's Name Card: Honor Guard - Xinhua | English.news.cn".
  5. ^ "The historical moment: Armed Police Tiananmen flag guard cancel the designation to history | waonews". Archived from the original on 2018-04-21. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  6. ^ 中国人民解放军三军仪仗队礼服的历史变迁
  7. ^ "The historical moment: Armed Police Tiananmen flag guard cancel the designation to history | waonews". Archived from the original on 2018-04-21. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  8. ^ "Dressed to kill: First female PLA honour guards steal limelight at leader's visit". 13 May 2014.
  9. ^ Asia Times
  10. ^ "Womenofchina.cn: Latest Women of China News".
  11. ^ "Russia-Chinese Soldiers/Parade".
  12. ^ "Guard of honor of PLA's three services ready for V-Day parade - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  13. ISBN 9781107023239
    .
  14. ^ "Chinese troops to join Belarusian army parade in Minsk | Press releases, Belarus | Belarus.by".
  15. ^ "Chinese Military Are To Parade In Minsk Center - Charter '97 :: News from Belarus - Belarusian News - Republic of Belarus - Minsk". charter97.org. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  16. ^ "Chinese Army's Name Card: Honor Guard - Xinhua | English.news.cn".
  17. ^ "People's Daily Online -- PLA helps traing [sic] honor guard for Gabon". Archived from the original on 2022-03-26. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  18. ^ "Gabon's Communication minister appreciates good Gabono-Chinese relations". www.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 2019-10-12.
  19. ^ "Rwandan troops trained by Chinese mark 25th anniversary of liberation". 7 July 2019.
  20. ^ "Rwandan troops trained by China mark genocide anniversary".
  21. ^ "Chinese guards of honor help Rwandan troops complete military parade marking liberation anniversary - China Military".
  22. ^ http://www.cctv.com/lm/177/1.html
  23. ^ "Womenofchina.cn: Latest Women of China News".
  24. ^ "Walking with the Honor Guards -- Beijing Review".
  25. ^ "共和国礼炮部队的台前幕后". Archived from the original on 2014-05-19. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
  26. ^ "军报新媒体邀您探访三军仪仗队：看飒爽英姿的漂亮". Archived from the original on 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
  27. ISBN 9781612003894
    .
  28. ^ "History of ceremonial uniforms of China's Guard of Honor - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  29. ISBN 9781780960579
    .

External links
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