(Ecns.cn)--In November, a contest of "horsemanship" created a tense yet electric atmosphere on a plateau in northwest China. At a signal, a soldier riding a handsome bay horse and brandishing a sword slashed away at targets, which fell to the ground as the horse galloped by, reported the China Youth Daily on Wednesday.
The rider was 19-year-old Liu Haitao, who received warm applause for his performance. Liu is a member of the only cavalry troop under the Second Artillery Force of the People's Liberation Army！the country's strategic missile force.
Stationed in the frontier area of northwestern China, the troop known as the "iron cavalry of the plateau" was set up by the Central Military Commission in 1960 as part of efforts to protect a newly-built missile position.
Zhang Chuanli, a political commissar at the Second Artillery Force, commented during an interview with the China Youth Daily that the cavalrymen are responsible, dedicated, loyal and disciplined. Upholding the core values of soldiers, they spend their youth on the snow-covered plateau, making significant contributions to the country's missile development programs, he said.
One of the sentry posts is located on a plateau over 3,600 meters above sea level, where temperatures are usually below freezing for seven to eight months out of the year. The cavalrymen there are now enduring a temperature of -30 degree Celsius on average, added the China Youth Daily.
Every morning, squad leader Bai Xiaofeng and two other soldiers raise the flag, prepare breakfast, clean the barracks, breed army horses and get ready for routine patrol.
Nowadays, a considerable amount of cavalrymen are well educated, holding bachelor's and even master's degrees. Yet to be real cavalrymen, the soldiers must learn to ride and fight on horseback, for which many have been injured during practice.
Liu Haitao, who comes from southern China's Jiangsu Province, joined the troop last year at the age of 18 after failing to graduate from senior high. As the youngest soldier at the outpost, timid Liu was afraid to even mount his horse at the very beginning.
Worse still, he had hardly found his courage before the horse stumbled and threw Liu to the ground. Fortunately, the horse was stopped before any serious injury was inflicted. But now, after one year of intensive training, Liu has transformed into a famous cavalryman of the plateau.
